John Connelly, Asia director for Grimes, McGovern & Associates, attended the recent UFI Asia-Pacific Conference and AIME – both held in Melbourne, Australia in February 2025.
He returned with a few choice insights – into the events he attended and the Australian industry at large.
For many, John explained, the most interesting session was led by Stephan Forseilles, VP technology at Easyfairs. Stephan spoke about how AI needs to be applied on a wider scale to exhibition companies, from sales and marketing to finance and operations. AI can be highly effective for improving efficiency and enhancing the stakeholder experience, he said.
The Easyfairs VP provided something of a “wakeup call” to some attendees, explaining that many companies in the industry are still too far behind in employing this transformative technology.
After the session, several of the organisers John Connelly spoke with said they knew the topic was urgent – adoption of AI was now high up on their “to-do list”.
As for the Australian industry, John’s impression from meetings with clients and organisers in the country was that Australia has now bounced back from Covid. It has entered a “new normal”.
In addition to tech, the conference also tackled two other major challenges for the industry – talent and sustainability.
Source: www.exhibitionworld.co.uk
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