전시저널 7월호(통권 제53호)  

AKEI가 만난 사람-UFI Paul Woodward 사무총장

Q1. 전시저널 독자들과 한국 전시인들에게 먼저 인사말씀 부탁드립니다. 또한 UFI에 대해 잘 모르는 분들을 위해 UFI에 대한 간략한 소개 부탁드립니다.


On behalf of the entire UFI team, it is a real pleasure for me to be able to send greetings to our friends and colleagues in the Korean exhibition industry. We are really excited about this year’s UFI Congress in Seoul and looking forward to being with many of you in November.


UFI was founded back in 1925 in Milan, Italy by 20 organisers of international trade fairs. Seventeen of those companies are still part of UFI but we have, since then, grown to over 636 members in 85 countries. At the heart of UFI are the organisers of international exhibitions, representing 75% of our membership, joined by venue owners and managers, national associations and partners of the industry. The 923 trade fairs which carry the UFI Approved Event status are the crème-de-la-crème of exhibitions around the world.


UFI provides its members with networking opportunities, with information, research and education and with promotion of exhibition as the world’s most effective marketing tool. With our four regional chapters and five working committees, as well as our eight annual seminars and conferences, there are many ways in which UFI’s members work for the good of the industry and, of course, the good of their own businesses.



Q2. 일반적으로 UFI 총회에서는 어떤 일들이 진행되는지, 초오히에 대한 전반적인 소개를 부탁드립니다.


The UFI Congress is the most important event in UFI’s annual calendar and is our only event for members only. This year will be the 80th time that the meeting has been held. It moves around the world each year and will be taking place in 2013 in Korea for the first time. The week of the Congress includes many meetings. These include UFI’s governing bodies, it’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee as well as the annual members’ business meeting, the General Assembly. Several of our working committees will meet in Seoul as well as the four regional chapters: Asia/Pacific, Middle East/Africa, Europe and Latin America. Two years ago we launched Special Interest Groups and they will also meet in Seoul, focusing on China, Large Venues and Family Business. We will also have a meeting for researchers which looks in depth at important research work underway in the industry around the world.


The CEO’s of the top 20 multi-national exhibition companies, UFI’s Group Members, meet for an invitation-only, round table Think Tank just before the Congress. This means that many of the top leaders of the global exhibition industry will be in Seoul for our meeting.


Finally, there is the Congress programme itself. This is a very intensive, high-level strategic view of our industry. It is designed for Chief Executives and Board Directors to help give them ideas for the planning of future directions for their business.


As with all good business meetings, the social elements are very important too. Delegates consistently tell us that networking with their peers from around 60 countries is a critical benefit of joining the UFI Congress. So, our welcome reception, Gala Dinner and post-Congress tours are all very important parts of the programme when members sit down to do business with each other as well as have a bit of fun and experience some of the host country’s culture.



Q3. UFI 총회에는 전 세계 전시산업 리더 약 450명이 참가하고 있습니다. 이런 대규모 행사인 만큼 준비단계와 참가자 초청 등 신경 써야 할 일이 한두 가지가 아닐 텐데요. UFI 총회 주관사 입장에서 본 총회를 치르며 가장 중점을 두는 부분은 어떤 것인가요?


The most critical success factor in preparing for an event like the UFI Congress is a good working relationship with our hosts and partners in the host country. The process starts around 3 years before the event itself as we select our destination and start to work with the host. Planning visits will be required by the highly-experienced UFI team, but we depend heavily on the hard work and enthusiasm of our hosts. We have been particularly impressed with the dedication of the team at AKEI in doing everything they can to make sure that the 2013 UFI Congress is as successful as possible.



Q4. 사무총장님께서는 UFI 서울 총회 점검 차 한국에 몇 번 방문하셨던 것으로 압니다. 한국 전시인프라를 접해본 소감을 말씀해 주십시오.


I was personally based in Asia for 25 years before moving to Paris to head up the UFI team. So, I have watched the development of modern infrastructure across Korea very closely throughout my career and it’s really impressive. You have some wonderful exhibition centres in several of the key cities backed up with world class transport infrastructure, hotels, etc. At the same time, the professionalism of the industry overall has jumped dramatically over the last 10 – 15 years and this is reflected in the fact that Korea has the second largest number of UFI members in Asia after China.


Q5. 앞선 질문의 연장선상에서 질문 드립니다. 역대 총회들은 지난 2010년 싱가포르, 2011년 발렌시아, 2012년 아부다비 등 다양한 도시에서 열려왔습니다. 역대 총회 개최도시들과 비교하여 서울은 아시아, 나아가 세계 전시산업에서 어떤 위치에 있다고 생각하는지 타 도시들과 비교하여 말씀해 주십시오


It’s very hard to compare cities from country to country in a meaningful way because each is so different. The exhibition industry in each city develops according to the history of the place, its business culture, government policy and overall economic development.


All three of the cities you mention share with Korea the attributes of world-class exhibition infrastructure. They have, however, very different economies, so the exhibition industry in each place cannot really be compared.



Q6. 한국의 전시인프라는 지난 몇 년간 비약적인 발전을 거듭해 왔습니다. 10만㎡ 전시장인 KINTEX를 비롯해 대구 EXCO, 부산 BEXCO, 광주 김대중컨벤션센터 등 전국 대도시마다 최신 시설을 갖춘 전시장들이 들어서 있고 현재도 신축, 또는 증축 예정인 전시장들이 있습니다. 규모를 갖춰가고 있는 한국 전시산업이 이제 내실 있는 성장을 꾀하기 위해서는 어떤 노력이 필요한 지에 대하여 조언을 부탁드립니다.


I think it is very important that facilities are developed with a realistic understanding of the business opportunity they are addressing and not primarily with an eye on competing cities. As I said earlier, the nature of exhibitions in every city is different because of geography, the economy, their economic structure and their history. Different types of exhibition need different buildings and, although flexibility is critical in venue design, a good planner will really need to understand these issues to build the right building.


Size is by no means the only important measure in an exhibition building. For certain types of fair, of course, very large covered areas are required. Other industries, though, may have other requirements and the ability to combine exhibition and conference facilities can often be very important too.



Q7. ‘2013 UFI 서울 총회’에는 한국은 물론 세계 전시인들이 한 자리에 모이는 전시산업의 올림픽과도 같습니다. 특히 올해 서울에서 개최되는 만큼 한국 전시산업 관계자들의 많은 참석이 예상되는데요. 한국의 전시인들은 이번 총회에서 무엇을 얻을 수 있을까요.


Although the UFI Congress is normally a members-only event, we always welcome all exhibition industry professionals from the host country and look forward to making many new Korean friends in November. Those who attending an UFI event for the first time can expect to meet many, many new contacts from all over the world. Some of those will be interested in doing business in Korea. Others will want to talk to you about business opportunities in their own countries.


We hope that those attending the UFI Congress in Seoul will come away at the end of the week with new ideas about how to do business, new contacts which will help them to expand their own businesses and a stronger sense of being part of the global exhibition community.



Q8. 마지막으로 한국의 전시인들과 ‘2013 UFI 서울 총회’ 참가자들에게 초대의 말씀 부탁드립니다.


On behalf of the UFI President, Mr. Chen Xianjin and all our members across 85 countries, it gives us great pleasure to welcome the leaders of Korea’s exhibition industry to join us in November at the 80th UFI Congress at COEX in Seoul from 13 – 16 November.