ITCOW [L]

From

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/singapore/story/0,4386,186546,00.html?

Millions lost with trade show’s cancellation

S’pore calls off Asia’s top telecom and broadcasting event due to exhibitors’
concern about Sars

ASIA’S largest telecommunications and broadcasting exhibition, which was to have
been held at Suntec City and Singapore Expo next month, has been cancelled
because of the Sars outbreak.

Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), organiser of BroadcastAsia and CommunicAsia,
said the move, though expensive, was necessary because the Sars outbreak in Asia
had ‘not stabilised’.

Both exhibitors and visitors, it said in a statement yesterday, had expressed
concern about contracting the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) virus at
the show.

SES chief executive Stephen Tan said a recent poll of the 1,425 exhibitors found
that only 7 per cent wanted to go ahead with the show next month.

‘It’s a mindset. With all the travel advisories going around, people are
worried,’ he told The Straits Times.

One exhibitor, US-based satellite firm Intelsat, applauded the decision, saying
that the current health risks were ‘too great to take’.

The cancellation of the event, which has traditionally been the largest trade
show in Singapore in terms of number of participating companies, will deal a
blow to the organisers and the local economy.

For starters, SES expects $12 million will be lost in revenue alone. It is now
negotiating with exhibitors on compensation packages.
On a wider scale, the cancellation will cost the economy hundreds of millions in
lost income.

Last year’s event is estimated to have contributed $264 million to the economy
by way of expenses incurred on items such as freight-forwarding, food and
beverages and hotels.

On whether the event could have been postponed to the latter half of the year,
Mr Tan said it was considered but no suitable dates were available as the world
calendar was already filled with other events in Beijing, Amsterdam, Geneva, Las
Vegas and Japan.

Mr Tan pointed out that many exhibitors and buyers were already committed to
exhibiting at and visiting these events.

‘It would therefore be difficult to identify a suitable slot without moving them
too close to next year’s shows,’ he said.

‘This is the most expensive option open to us but we see this as a long-term
business decision. We have to fulfil our responsibility to our exhibitors as
well as preserve the quality and integrity of the shows,’ he added.

The next BroadcastAsia and CommunicAsia is scheduled to take place from June 15
to 18 next year.
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