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[All photos: Jacques Gavard/TFWA]
From the well-considered (and impeccably observed) minute of silence for the victims of the recent natural disasters in Japan, Australia and New Zealand at the opening conference to the close of exhibition trading 5p.m on Thursday, the TFWA Asia Pacific show hit just about every note perfectly.
A total of 2,117 visitors participated in the exhibition, up +11% year-on-year while the number of companies present rose by +12%.
Those are the bald numbers. What matters more – and is impossible to assess – is the amount of business that was done, both at the show and in terms of future agreements. Anecdotal evidence was encouraging. And certainly there was an unmistakeable sense of optimism among both exhibitors and buyers, almost without exception among the many people I spoke to.
At the closing press conference on Thursday, TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen (below) talked of a “tremendous buzz” around the exhibition and he wasn’t talking about mosquitoes. “The mood has been very positive all round,” he noted. “And I’ve never seen a [TFWA Asia Pacific] conference with so many people.”
He was right on both scores. He, Managing Director Alain Maingreaud and the TFWA Board and Management Committee can feel satisfied with a job well done.