July 09, 2020 - The cancellation of all major exhibitions and events globally have created survival threat in the exhibitions industry and the entire value chain of organisers, venues, stand fabricators, logistics providers, and other service providers is grappling with cash flow issues. A majority of MSMEs who participated in exhibitions to get customer orders also find their order chains dried up due to suspension of exhibitions.

The Indian exhibition industry is a Rs.23,800 crores monolith with more than 550 events conducted annually in the organised sector. The exhibition industry sector enables trade/business transactions of over Rs. 3,00,000 crores, boosting and supporting the growth of various spectrum of industries while also being a major employment generator supporting livelihood of lakhs of people in the country. With a steady annual growth of about 10% over the past few years, the exhibitions sector has been buoying the overall growth of the economy of the country through the catalytic impact brought in by the sector.

Exhibitions are considered as Economic growth engines by many leading countries across the globe and have received special incentives and impetus from the governments due to the impact of pandemic. Countries such as Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, China and many European countries including Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium etc. have gone ahead in announcing the re-opening of exhibitions amidst safety protocols in order to stimulate and fast-track economic recovery of their industries. In India, the sector saw the cancellation or postponement of more than 130 shows during March to July 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA) in its last statement released in April had summed up the loss up to approximately 15% of the total events conducted annually in the organised sector, with a resultant estimated loss of Rs. 3,570 crores during Q1 of the year. As the pandemic rages on with no short term end in sight, the estimated loss as of today exceeds Rs. 5,000 crores.

There is no doubt that exhibitions are the most impactful and result generative market places for both buyers and sellers. Exhibitions create a positive ripple effect in employment generation and generating new business opportunities. They are an important pillar for the tourism and hospitality industries and is one of the key originator of Business Traffic in the country.

In its appeal to the Government of India, IEIA has urged the government to create an “Exhibitions in India” economic stimulus support package and offer a 10% incentive to Indian exhibition management companies to organise shows in India and help kickstart the economy,
Deferment of tax liabilities, collateral free loans, subsidies on venue rentals, 100% subsidy on participation charges to MSME/NSIC units and other exhibitors for participation in domestic shows are some of the ongoing demands of the association.

IEIA requests are in alignment with the union government’s vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

Explaining the importance of exhibitions, S. Balasubramanian, President, IEIA stated, “Exhibitions are the lifeline of trade and economic development in any country. Though Covid- 19 has had an unprecedented impact on exhibition industries across the world, many countries in Asia and Europe have re-opened exhibitions with new norms and economic activities are gaining momentum. It’s time for the Government in India to open up exhibitions to fast pace the trade and economic activities and provide employment opportunities to revitalise the Indian economy back to pre-Covid days quickly. Indian exhibition industry stand committed to ensure the safety of all the stakeholders during organisation of Trade shows.”

IEIA has prepared the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for conducting exhibitions in a safe and secure manner. These have been submitted to Ministry of Commerce, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Ministry of Tourism.
With opening up of majority of sectors during Unlock 1.0 phase including travel, domestic airlines, retail and hospitality; IEIA has urged the government to announce the earliest re-opening of exhibitions in the country with safety protocols in place.

About IEIA
Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA), is the apex body of exhibiting an trade show industry in the country with more than 250 members across the nation. The association brings all the exhibition organizers, managers, designers & stand contractors, freight forwarders, services & facilities providers, venue owners, etc. together to promote the cause of exhibitions.

For more details, contact ed ( @ ) ieia dot in or visit https://www.ieia.in/

Contact Information
Suresh Shivakumar
Indian Exhibition Industry Association
A-337, LGF, Shivalik, Malviya Nagar
Malviya Nagar,
110017
Voice: 41045481