If there is one industry that crosses every border, it's exhibitions and events. From Paris, TX, to Paris, France, and Alexandria, VA, to Alexandria, Egypt, they occur the world over. But for all of their geographical reach, exhibitors can seem as far apart as the North and South Poles. EXHIBITOR caught up with Kai Hattendorf of the Union of International Fairs (UFI) to see how his organization has been bringing exhibitors in almost 100 countries closer together by helping them speak in one voice on the issues that affect them all.

EXHIBITOR Magazine: Would you provide some idea of the size and extent of the UFI?
Kai Hattendorf: UFI is the global trade association of the world's tradeshow organizers and exhibition center operators, as well as the major national and international exhibition associations and selected partners of the exhibition industry. Our mission is to globally represent, promote, and support the business interests of the exhibition industry.

UFI represents more than 50,000 exhibition industry employees, and we work closely with more than 60 national and regional exhibition and event industry associations. More than 820 member organizations in 85-plus countries around the world are members, and more than 900 international trade fairs are "UFI-Approved Events," a quality guarantee for visitors and exhibitors alike. Around 100 of our members are based in North America.

EM: Can you describe ways in which the UFI's mission has evolved throughout its history?
KH: Over the past 20 years, the industry has backed our evolution into the one truly global association serving our sector. Today, we have offices, chapters, and representatives located in APAC (Asia-Pacific), Europe, the MEA (Middle East and Africa), Latin America, and North America.

UFI has always been focused on bringing our industry together, and our global and regional research has become a standard. For 15 years we have been taking our industry's pulse with the "Global Barometer" research, and education and advocacy have taken bigger roles in the UFI strategy and mission. Recently, our members asked that we develop and launch the "UFI Certified Professional" (UCP) designation.

EM: What does the designation mean? When did it launch, and what are its benefits?
KH: The UCP is an individualized and flexible educational program. UFI worked with human resource leaders from around the world to develop a core module called the "Exhibition Management School," covering the 10 most relevant topics for emerging and advancing industry leaders. Alternatively, venue managers can take part in the "Venue Management School," which focuses on the needs of venues.
EM: You recently attended the Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance (ECA) Legislative Action Day in Washington, DC, talking to legislators about exhibition-related concerns. What issues are the most important to the international exhibition community this year?
KH: On the advocacy side, it's the slow processing of visa applications. If you're coming from certain countries to the U.S., the waiting time is close to two years! That kind of waiting period is like hanging up a sign that says, "We don't want your business."

UFI is addressing that, and I am hopeful that we will see some movement in the U.S., and likewise in Europe, where our team from the EEIA (the European equivalent of the ECA) is having talks with high-level policymakers who support us.

EM: In the U.S., what government policies are the most helpful? Which ones are less helpful?
KH: Everything that eases access to the show floor is helpful. Wait times remain far too long in many key international markets, and ECA continues to pursue legislative remedies and additional State Department funding to reduce the backlog. The other two areas we were addressing on Capitol Hill are equally important: the support we can get from existing government programs as we build out the industry's future skilled workforce and the support we need from government agencies to rein in and stop business impersonation fraud.

EM: I get the importance of government programs as we build out the industry's future skilled workforce. But "business impersonation fraud"? How widespread is the problem and how is it affecting the exhibition industry?
KH: More than 99 percent of all business events organizations are small businesses, and more than 80 percent of exhibitors at our exhibitions, trade shows, and conferences are also small businesses. Literally all show attendees and exhibitors are targets of business impersonation frauds.

The two most common forms of business impersonation fraud within the business events industry are hotel-reservation scams and attendee-list sale scams. For hotel reservation scams, third-party hotel room brokers will use deceptive practices to market overpriced or nonexistent hotels rooms to business-event exhibitors and visitors.

For attendee list sale scams, event exhibitors are contacted by rogue list brokers, often daily, fraudulently claiming to have and sell the event's attendee list before the event itself takes place. These scammers use the event name, logo, and/or organizer's name in their email signatures to create the illusion that their efforts are conducted with the approval of the event organizer.

The ECA and all of its members support the FTC's proposed rule that prohibits the impersonation of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and associations, and we strongly urge the FTC to finalize the "Rule on Impersonation of Government and Business" quickly to protect businesses.

EM: Are the challenges for exhibitors the same worldwide? Or are they different for different areas? For example, what are they in Europe compared to Asia or Africa, or South America compared to the Middle East?
KH: We could write a whole book on this issue. Every market has different regulations, priorities, and processes, and these translate into specific tasks and asks for every exhibitor. Luckily, across whole regions (like the European Union) these are similar. Most organizers in major markets are well-versed in guiding their exhibitors through the necessary steps and supporting them.

EM: How do different governments view the exhibition industry? Which governments are the friendliest? Which are the most difficult?
KH: There are no generalizations. The events industry grows fastest where governments create business-event-friendly ecosystems. Key issues to watch for are international accessibility and connectivity, as well as the size and quality of venue, transport, and hospitality infrastructure. Where these exist, you will find a generally business-supportive political leadership.

Now, after the pandemic, we are advocating intensely that oversight of our sector should lie with commerce or trade ministries, or with the prime minister's office directly, and not with travel or tourism because the positive impacts we bring to destinations go far beyond that. I am very happy to see that around the world, governments are increasingly listening and acting on this.

EM: I know that trade show organizers are developing emerging marketplaces around the world. But where are they?
KH: Many markets in Southeast Asia are developing very fast, as economic growth in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region outpaces growth in China. This covers markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. In the Middle East, the UAE continues to see sustained growth, while Saudi Arabia grows even faster after opening a few years ago and now investing a lot in our sector.

In addition, organizers are now looking toward mature markets for future growth – for example, European organizers are keen to grow their presence and show portfolios in North America.

EM: What makes you hopeful about the future of the industry?
KH: From the outside, it looks like our industry changes very little – a show floor is a show floor, after all. But we know that this is not the case. The way we build and operate the show floor evolves ever faster, with digitization and sustainability playing an ever-bigger role. I am excited by the challenges we will face to stay on top of these changes to make sure we stay relevant for our exhibitors. And I am confident that we will, and here is why: While we always think it is a negative that people "fall" into this industry, this is actually our secret superpower. We are one of the very few industries that can be a great career option for essentially everyone, no matter what special skills they have.E