According to Kate Newman, head of corporate communications for Asia-Pacific at Messe Frankfurt, an international trade fair organiser, Hong Kong has excellent infrastructure and advanced facilities which provide international buyers and trade fair visitors easy access to a growing number of trade exhibitions in the city.

According to Hong Kong Trade Development Council statistics, Hong Kong hosted 97 major exhibitions at its facilities in HKCEC last year, an increase of more than 10 per cent from 2006, and there will be new additions next year including Asia Funeral Expo and Retail Asia Expo.

With other places in Asia - notably Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and major cities in the mainland - building and fast expanding their exhibition facilities in recent years, Hong Kong's exhibition industry needs to compete in terms of exhibition space and talent and service levels.

Industry sources believe that the expansion work at HKCEC will add 19,400 square metres of exhibition space and create several hundred new jobs in its first year of operation.

While many believe that Macau is emerging as an imminent threat to Hong Kong's exhibition industry, Ms Newman said Macau was better suited for public shows targeting end users for goods such as mobile phones, consumer electronics, computer games and luxury cars because of its positioning as a leisure-related destination.

Rather than seeing Macau as a competitor, she said: 'Hong Kong and Macau complement each other rather than being head-on competitors.'

For an exhibition organiser, the exhibition business is not just about providing a venue for exhibitors and visitors to meet and talk about business; it is more about building trust and winning the confidence of customers.

Jime Essink, chief executive of CMP Asia, a Hong Kong-based commercial exhibition organiser with a strong business presence in China and India, said: 'It is crucial to understand what customers want and be flexible enough to adjust events that cater to their needs accordingly.

'Customers will be impressed if they know the organiser is working with the most prestigious industry partners and trade associations to ensure that all key players from the industry are involved,' he said.

Major exhibition companies usually operate offices in the countries or cities where exhibitions are held.

With international and local brands and products tapping the mainland's fast growing consumer market, most Hong Kong exhibition operators see the mainland as the next level for their business growth.

The fifth supplement of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) recently signed between Hong Kong and the mainland, which allows Hong Kong exhibition operators to organise overseas exhibitions for mainland enterprises, will further open the mainland exhibition industry, especially in Guangdong, and benefit Hong Kong companies.

'We have long-established offices in some key cities in China. We will hire more people to work in China in future. We plan to train our mainland colleagues so they can become operationally independent,' Mr Essink said.

For many companies, participating in a trade exhibition is a strategic marketing activity which helps to promote their brands, products or services. So choosing the right exhibition and a reliable organiser is central to their business, especially at a time when major markets of the United States and Europe are experiencing an economic downturn.

'Customers like to work with organisers who have a long business history and who have offices around the world where they can expect to meet their frontline representatives with experience and knowledge of the trade and the market, especially for overseas customers exhibiting in a foreign country.

'[Those exhibitors] need an agency that is resourceful and service-driven,' Mr Essink said. 'We deal with a large number of customers for each trade show and good customer service is of utmost important in this business,' he said.

'Our customers invest a significant sum in trade shows ... we just have to make sure we have enough people to meet their needs.'

An exhibition can involve 200 exhibitors to several thousand, and there is a package of things to handle including customer relationship, management of contractors and logistics for each exhibition.

People need high levels of organisational skills and an eye for detail to be successful in the exhibition trade.

According to Mr Essink, other than an education up to university level, excellent interpersonal skills and a willingness to work with others are essential.

'We expect our people to be promoted in a reasonable time frame, say once every three years. Some can be promoted in a shorter time if they prove to be exceptionally outstanding,' he said.

Key players

Sales executive

Senior sales executive

Sales manager

Event manager

Vice-president

Chief executive

Jargon

Shell scheme a standard, fully furnished booth offered by exhibition organisers to enable exhibitors to set up and display their products without much hassle

Raw space an area without any decoration or refurbishment on the exhibition floor, where exhibitors can build their own specially designed booth

Gross area overall floor space covered by the entire event, usually provided in square metres

National pavilion a large group of exhibitors exhibiting under their country flag, sometimes sponsored by a national trade organisation

Fringe programme special events and exhibits organised in conjunction with the main exhibition, such as seminars or fashion shows