Spring trade fair season – Part 2 – Mega Macau

Unlike Canton Fair , the Mega Macau is a brand new trade show held in brand new venue and in a place where trade shows haven’t been that common. Macau clearly wants to follow Las Vegas example not only as a gambling paradise but also as a convention and exhibition destination.

The first Mega Macau trade fair was held last October (2007) during the autumn trade fair season on in the Far East. I went there to have a look and I had mixed impressions.

The venue itself – The Venetian Macau – is great. The convention centre is a part of the newly open Venetian casino and resort and that sure creates a different experience than the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre or the Asia World Expo some 60 km to the east in Hong Kong. Shopping malls, kitsch decoration, decent selection of restaurants. But there weren’t too many other positives about the Mega Macau show.

Getting there logistics – This was a nightmare. Getting from Hong Kong to Macau is usually very simple. You get to the Macau ferry terminal, jump on the next available ferry (there is obe every 10-15 minutes) and you are set. One hour later you disembark in Macau, clear immigration, hop on taxi and go. Was not the case during Mega Macau.

I spent about 3 hours waiting for the ferry in Hong Kong. My stupidity, I should have guessed and buy ticket in advance. But it did not end there. In Macau, there was a special immigration channel for the trade show visitors. But only for those with badge. The organizer messed up and did not deliver the badge to me on time, I had only invitation to get the badge on site. Bad luck, no speedy line for me, I had to queue up for about 45 minutes in the regular line.

Organizer (Kenfair) promised a shuttle bus to Venetian right outside the ferry terminal. Well, the organizer staff were hiding and I had to look for them. When I found them, they told me there is no shuttle only a hotel shuttle. Then they pointed to an 1 hour long queue. I had 3 options – wait an hout there, or wait an hour for taxi or walk for half a day. At the end it took me 6 hours to get to the fair, a jjourney that should not take more than 2.

Why actually I went to the fair ? Well it is a new kid on the block so I wanted to check it out. Moreover they advertised some sort of Asia Pacific Advertising Product show as a part of the fair and I was curious to see how that is going to look. At the end the travel was total waste of time. There were only few desperate exhibitors waiting for some visitors. Most of the visitors were people from Hong Kong on a quick curious trip just like me. Not much to be seen there that I can’t see in Hong Kong gift fairs without all that traveling headache.

Attracting exhibitors and buyers to a brand new fair is never an easy task, especially when it involves a new venue and new location. But Kenfair, the organizer of Mega Macau, has a very strange strategy. We have been exhibiting in a fair in Hong Kong organized by Kenfair for perhaps almost 10 years. It took us 4 years to finally get a booth at a good location. We kept the booth ever since. Then last year a very strange request came from Kenfair – To keep your booth in October in Hong Kong you have to exhibit in April in Macau too. I am not even sure whether this is legal but I do not care. I sent them to hell and decided to withdraw from October fair in Hong Kong …

The other negative I found was the ever present cigarette smoke. There is no smoking in the exhibition hall itself but people are (or were) allowed to smoke just outside the hall, in the fair check-in area and that I found weird. This does not happen any more in trade fairs even in such smoking obsessed country as Mainland China …

Do I recommend to visit Mega Macau ? If you plan to fly half way across the globe to see this fair, then better stay at home. If you are in Hong Kong or Guangzhou already for other fairs then go, but only if you have a day to spare …

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