No room at the show: every day a trade fair in Guangdong

An oversupply of organisers is killing competition in the events industry

Guangdong fair organisers are voicing concern about increasing competition during the autumn season as exhibition companies try to make up for business lost during the spring Sars outbreak.

About 120 international trade fairs have been scheduled for the period from September to November, compared to about 100 fairs for the whole of last year.

Most organisers are trying to take advantage of the National Day holidays and the competition is heightened by the entry of new exhibition companies.

'This is a waste of resources,' Guangdong Exhibition Association president Liang Hongli said. 'If newcomers arrive, they will be fighting for the same market because the number of exhibitors and specialised buyers is not growing as fast as the number of exhibition companies.'

Six auto shows have been scheduled for the period from September 20 to October 10, which covers the National Day holiday week. In Dongguan alone there will be three auto shows, while the other shows will be in Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Foshan.

One of the Dongguan shows recruited Hong Kong pop stars including Aaron Kwok Fu-shing to sing at the opening on Monday after learning that it was not the only auto fair in the city.