Celion Su

As the host of this years UFI global congress， please introduce the highlights of this years meeting and your expectation

Alexeev： We are sure that the Congress will become an important step in the development of cooperation with our foreign colleagues， based on mutual trust and understanding. There will be four days of active networking. On November 2， we will hold a conference "Focus on Russia" with the participation of leading Russian economists and foreign colleagues who will share with the audience their experience of doing business in Russia. The participants will be able to get acquainted with the Russian exhibition companies at the exposition stands， and to discuss the cooperation opportunities. I expect the Congress will help us promote our domestic market.

The UFI Global Congress unites the leaders and professionals of the market – this is a great opportunity to show the potential of St. Petersburg as a destination. Moreover， the organizers from all over the world will have the opportunity to examine the Congress venue - ExpoForum – one of the most modern and multifunctional exhibition and congress centres in the world.

As the President of RUEF， what do you think are the development opportunities and challenges for Russias exhibition industry？

Alexeev： In addition to global trends， the Russian exhibition industry is affected by economic and geopolitical instability， sanctions and uncertainty in local and foreign markets.

Oddly enough， the challenges bring new opportunities， since the current international situation led to the increase of the importance of mutual trust and cooperation. The exhibition business plays a key role in connecting countries and continents， uniting partners from all over the world.

In addition， the new state economic policy provided us with new opportunities. One of the key tasks - import substitution - is achieved through the formation of demand for products of Russian enterprises， its positive image， and promotion in the markets. Here， too， exhibition business is the driver of the economy. Before our domestic market was overcrowded with foreign goods， and now it is more friendly for our national products.

Are there many young people working in the MICE industry in Russia？ What do you think is the key to MICE talents cultivation and retaining？

Alexeev： According to our data， young people are very interested in exhibition and congress activity as a sphere to make a career in and consider it quite a promising direction. They are motivated by new interesting jobs， opportunities to express themselves， to work at the intersection of marketing， advertisement， PR， sales， and GR， to participate in international projects， by our industrys huge communicative potential. To get young people more interested our industry should open up and show its advantages to the youth.

Do you think that science and technology is key to creating excellent event experience？

Alexeev： Digitalization and new technologies are key drivers that influence the development of the exhibition industry today. Due to digitalization， the exhibition industry has competitors： online platforms that， like trade shows， bring together buyers and sellers. Those companies that can use new technologies in their work will be more successful through building effective interaction between exhibitors and visitors. Still exhibitions remain an effective tool of communication as they provide "face-toface” contact.

As a senior professional in the exhibition industry， how do you view the transformation trends of the exhibition industry？

Alexeev： In addition to new technologies， the globalization process has a significant impact on the exhibition industry. It implies both opportunities and problems. Thanks to globalization， our industry interacts with new dynamically developing markets. Another challenge we are facing is talent acquisition. For the next few years， we set the task to intensify work on attracting and retaining talented personnel in the industry.

China and Russia have close ties in terms of geographic relations， how do you view the status quo and the future of bilateral MICE cooperation？

Alexeev： The annual analysis of the exhibition activities of the RUEF members shows that China is one of the most active participants of Russian exhibitions. Thus in 2017， 4，470 Chinese exhibitors participated in 159 exhibitions of RUEF members in 15 cities. China took the first place not only among the exhibitors of Asia （71.5% of all exhibitors of the countries of the Asian region）， but among all countries of the world， far ahead of them. Compared to 2016， the number of exhibitors from China increased by 11.5%.

However， we should not stop here， it is necessary to make joint efforts to maintain mutual interest. We see the following cooperation opportunities between our countries in MICE-industry： more effective use of coinciding interests and mutual trust between our countries in order to enhance cooperation in exhibition industry； expanding collective participation in exhibitions of each country with the support of the authorities； expansion of partnership in organization of collective participation； organizing business meetings between the two exhibition industries in the future； conducting presentations of the Russian exhibition industry in the regions of China. We invite the companies to join the events taking place in Chinese business centre and to get the direct communication with Chinese suppliers and search for the new partners and investors. The Chinese business centre was opened in Lenexpo more than 3 years ago. It helps to promote the Chinese production， find the Chinese manufacturers and suppliers on the Russian market， Chinese contractors and investors for the Russian companies project realization and to demonstrate innovations and Chinese production in Russia.

On the base of this centre many business and cultural events related to the Chinese business sector take place. The 3rd Annual Russian – Chinese business forum took place there this year and united more than 500 delegates and participants. More than 70 organizations from 17 provinces of China visited the Centre in 2017. We are sure that cooperation in the MICE sphere， building new contacts and mutually beneficial promotion of goods and services at Russian and Chinese exhibitions will contribute to the development of trade and economic relations between our countries.