|
Trade fairs and exhibitions cannot lure customers
The number of visitors to the 2009 Tet trade fair decreased by 1/3 over the previous year, which has made trade fair organizers fear that trade fairs and exhibitions will have few visitors this year, as people try to cut down expenses.
The Giang Vo Trade Fair Centre in Hanoi plans to have 31 trade fairs this year, while it had only 29 last year. Three events were organized before Tet, and 28 others will be organized from now until the end of the year. While the number of trade fairs increases, Nguyen Van Thanh, Head of the Business Division of the centre said, the scale of the trade fair will be smaller than that of previous years.
There have been two groups of trade fairs and exhibitions organized at the centre, consumer products’ trade fairs and industry trade fairs, the latter of which is smaller scale and has specific attendants. To date, clients have registered to lease premises equal to only ½ of the area they registered in previous years.
Thanh said that in previous years, industry trade fairs always used two of the three blocs available. However, event organizers have registered to use only one of the three. Vietnam Expo, the annual event, which is to be held in April, will use two of the three blocs instead of the three.
The head of the business division of a center specializing in leasing premises also said that the number of clients has dropped by 20%. Previously, clients had to book premises two months in advance, while they now just have to contact one month before the event is organized.
Spring trade fairs always attract visitors as people want to make purchases for Tet. However, the 2009 Tet trade fair saw the number of visitors down by 1/3. People nowadays do not like going to trade fairs anymore to make purchases, because they seem to prefer supermarts. As a result, the scale of trade fairs has become smaller and smaller, which has also resulted in the decrease of the turnover of the event organizing centers. The Giang Vo Centre, for example, has estimated a decrease of 20%.
For the last many years, trade fairs and exhibitions in the south have been able to draw more attention from the public than in the north. Annual Vietbuild exhibition every year has approximately one thousand stalls in HCM City, while it has 500-600 stalls in Hanoi.
Thanh from Giang Vo Centre in Hanoi said that trade fairs of sale products can still attract visitors. He said that such a trade fair was organized in Hanoi prior to Tet, and a similar one will be organized in May.
VietNamNet/VNE
|
