Celion Su

The 8th IEIA Open Seminar was held from 9-11 May 2018 at HITEX Exhibition Center， Hyderabad， bringing together Global Exhibition Industry leaders from over 30 countries. China International Conference and Exhibition participated as the exclusive international media partner from China.

IEIA is the apex body of the Indian Exhibition Industry representing Trade Fair Organizers， Service Providers and Venue Owners in the country. The Indian Exhibition Industry plays a big role in impacting economies – be it local， state or national. With an estimated industry size of approximately INR 25，000 crore and over 700 major Trade Shows annually， it is growing at a rate of 8.8% per year. IEIA Open Seminar is the annual international conclave of Indian Exhibition Industry organized by Indian Exhibition Industry Association（IEIA） and hosted by HITEX Exhibition Center， Hyderabad this year.

Converge & Connect

Mr. K V Nagendra Prasad， President， IEIA said the Open Seminar is a prominent event that brings together the Indian Exhibition Industry leaders with their global counterparts to discuss trends， challenges， opportunities and breakthroughs.

Sri. Suresh Prabhu， Honble Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation， Govt. of India， and Sri. Subramanian Swamy， Member of Parliament， are the key dignitaries attending the event.

IEIA Open Seminar 2018s theme“Converge & Connect” put the spotlight on the importance of working together and networking among all the stakeholders， globally. With more and more organizations entering the industry， there is a greater need to collaborate and ensure their common growth， which in turn will boost the growth of the Industry.

Sri. Subramanian Swamy delivered the keynote address as Ms. Suja Chandy， Vice President， Invest India （Govt. of India）， Mr. Corrado Peraboni， President， UFI and Mr David DuBois， President & CEO， IAEE delivered special addresses while over 45 renowned industry stalwarts also joined the team of speakers.

Over 600 leaders from the Global Exhibition Industry including the top management of all major global forums related to exhibition industry viz. UFI - The Global Association of Exhibition Industry， International Association of Exhibitions and Events（IAEE）， Asian Federation of Exhibitions and Convention （AFECA）， BRICS MICE Forum and heads of major exhibition organizations came together with the members of IEIA for three days packed with highly informative and interactive sessions.

Rich agenda to seek regional cooperation opportunities

During the IEIA Open Seminar 2018， government representatives and business leaders emphasized on framing policy for exponential growth of the Indian exhibition industry， while IEIA signed several Reciprocity Agreements this year with leading International associations to work towards collaboration among all stakeholders to make India one of the top Exhibitions and Trade Shows market in the world.

Mr. K V Nagendra Prasad， President， IEIA addressed in Welcome Remarks at the Opening Ceremony that Indias role is growing in terms of the development of the exhibition industry. Currently， India is the third largest trade fair market after China and Japan in Asia， industry growth rates above the regional average， around 8% in last 2-3 years. He anticipates that with the upgrades and expansion of infrastructure， the Indian exhibition industry would post double-digit growth rates for several consecutive years.

A highlight session of the Seminar was BRICS MICE Forum Executive Committee Meeting， aiming to seek BRICS countries MICE industry cooperation. The exhibition associations delegates from the BRICS countries， namely Brazil， Russia， India， China and South Africa discussed possibilities of strengthening collaboration between partner associations of key actionable programs for 2018 and onwards. The suggested cooperation between attending members included： Closer cooperation between partner associations； sharing information about each others activities and events， provide information about international fairs being organized by members of partner associations； facilitate member of partner associations in conducting their business in respective territories by providing necessary information/introductions； facilitate members of partner associations in obtaining travel visa； offer special rates to members of partner associations for advertising and promoting their respective business and events in the partner associations websites， publications， events.

IEIA Open Seminar 2018 also featured presentations by whos who of the exhibition industry， Panel Discussions， Exhibition Services Expo， Business Match Making， Young Professionals Meetup， IEIA Awards and Certified in Exhibitions Management（CEM） Graduation Ceremony along with many international concurrent events.