Is There Competition in the Exhibition Market in Asia? Analysis of the Positioning of Major Asian Exhibition Host Cities

There have been few efforts made to identify the positioning of exhibition host countries or cities, even though studies on the positioning of convention host destinations have been popular. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the positioning of exhibition cities as perceived by a sample of exhibitors who participated in exhibitions held in Hong Kong. A total of 304 questionnaires were collected at the PATA Travel Mart 2006, the Hong Kong Jewelry and Watch Fair, Aircraft Interiors Expo ASIA 2006, MIPIM Asia 2006, and Electronic Asia 2006. The results of this study found that there is a strong competition between major exhibition host cities in Asia, including Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo. The respondents showed the highest preference for Hong Kong and Singapore as an exhibition host destination.