According to the organisers of the event, FESPA Asia 2011 attracted a diverse audience from across the Asia-Pacific region, with visitors coming to the three-day event from a total of 34 countries.
The key target markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines were all strongly represented, making up 75% of total visitor attendance. Substantial delegations also came to Singapore from Australia, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as the USA and the UK.
Total attendance over the three days was over 4500, with more than 3000 unique visitors. FESPA’s Asian associate members had a visible presence throughout the show, and the FESPA stand was a lively hospitality hub for member delegations from these countries.
Feedback from exhibitors was positive, with many expressing their satisfaction with the international profile and decision-making calibre of the visitors, as well as the organisational expertise of the FESPA team and the excellence of the exhibition facilities at Suntec in Singapore.
“Talking to exhibitors here at FESPA Asia 2011, it’s clear that there is strong demand for an event of this calibre serving the south-east Asian marketplace,” comments Neil Felton, FESPA’s managing director of exhibitions and events. “While there are several national events serving individual countries, no single exhibition in the screen and wide format digital sector brings together the whole Asian region to explore technical and service innovation and share best practice. FESPA’s pan-regional approach, our professionalism in delivering multi-faceted sector specialist events, combined with our mission to reinvest surplus revenues in education and knowledge-sharing for our member community in Asia, makes FESPA absolutely unique.”
This commitment to education was manifested in Singapore through the FESPA Print Pit Stop Conference, delivered in English, Thai and Mandarin Chinese. The show floor conference offered visitors a programme of free sessions covering topics including business, screen print, digital print and textiles. Visitors showed a real appetite for this expert content, with many speakers facing a capacity audience, and several lively panel discussions and Q&A sessions.
FESPA’s head of events and new media Duncan MacOwan observes, “The Asian market is incredibly diverse. Rapid adoption of digital technologies and business models balanced with an ongoing passion for screen printing and traditional processes, and differing commercial and macro-economic drivers shape the concerns of print service providers from country to country. Delegates were eager to learn from our expert speakers, and the response to this content was extremely enthusiastic. The Print Pit Stop Conference proved to be an important and valuable element of FESPA Asia 2011 and paves the way for future FESPA knowledge-sharing events in Asia.”