Mike Johnson, Event Director & General Manager for G2E Asia

“G2E Asia continues to grow and serve the entire Asian gaming region”

2013-06-07
Reading time 3:42 min
(Macau).- “Preliminary results show us up by at least 15% across the board with over 5,850 visitors”, pointed out Mike Johnson, Event Director & General Manager for G2E Asia, in an interview with Yogonet.com. The executive made a balance of the recent event and anticipated some news for the 2014 show.

How do you evaluate G2E Asia 2013? Did the show exceed your objectives and expectations? What was the outcome?
In the MICE industry our primary tracking metric for tradeshows is sq. meters represented on our show floors. All said and done, G2E Asia ended this year with 140 exhibiting companies totaling 7,086 sq. meters. In 2012 we showcased just 5,959 sq. meters which represents a 19% growth rate year on year. On the other side of the equation, we’re still in the process of auditing our final attendance numbers but preliminary results show us up by at least 15% across the board with over 5,850 visitors. The true nature of the show’s success however always comes down to content, and we’re very proud of what was offered this year. Many exhibitors continue to reserve more space as they aim to introduce more products into the Asian markets, and 33 new companies joined us for the first time in 2013 to do the same.

On the conference side our CFO Roundtable was a huge hit, as was the Global Markets Forum highlighting regional developments across the region. The Philippines panel in particular, led by Chairman Naguit of PAGCOR, received quite a bit of attention, as did the sessions addressing Taiwan and our host market of Macau. From a show management standpoint we were thrilled to introduce new show features including the G2E Asia Mobile app, G2E TV broadcast, our new Players Club VIP program, strategic networking events, and much more. Overall we are quite pleased with the show’s performance and will be carefully evaluating our post show survey results to continue raising the bar. Reed Exhibitions maintains one of the most sophisticated research departments in the industry as we always aim to provide events that exceed the needs of our customers.

Can you tell us the numbers of this year: exhibitors, visitors, countries represented, etc.?
As mentioned above we proudly showcased 140 companies for 7,086 sq. meters of exhibition space making this our largest show in recent years, and without question the largest gathering of the Asian gaming industry. Our attendance numbers are still being audited but we anticipate at least 15% growth year on year in overall visitors throughout the three days of the show. In terms of geographic dispersion, we were happy to welcome industry professionals from 69 countries, including all existing and emerging gaming markets in Asia, as well as nations from 6 of the world’s 7 continents.

How is the Asian industry nowadays? What could you perceive during the show? What did operators and manufactures say to you?
The existing Asian markets continue to grow at a remarkable rate and expanding/emerging markets such as Philippines and Taiwan will continue to drive that growth in the coming years. One of the most exciting conversations which just surfaced the last few weeks however is Japan. After years of speculation it seems that the newly elected Japanese Government will likely make a move to legalize casinos in the near future which will be tremendous for the industry. With the sheer size of that market in terms of population, economic stability, and hospitality expertise, the potential there is extremely exciting. This year we hosted a 50-person delegation from Japan and we look forward to working closely with them at future shows as G2E Asia continues to grow and serve the entire Asian gaming region.

What kind of products took visitors' attention?
The three biggest product segments represented in the show continue to be slot, table game, and electronic table/multi-player units. That said it’s been interesting to watch more and more international exhibitors introduce games specifically for Asian markets in recent years. When G2E Asia first launched prior to Cotai, many suppliers simply showcased existing games that were successful in other markets with a slightly different twist. Now you see games carefully designed for each market, with technical standards included for the Asian markets such as multi-language functionality, etc. Our security and surveillance sectors also continue to grow year on year which is obviously a huge technological need for casino operations. Moving into 2014 we are seeing more interest in non-gaming products to support integrated resort amenities so look for more of those suppliers in coming years, as well as from the online and mobile sectors.

What can you anticipate us about G2E Asia 2014? What parts do you think that you need to improve as organizers?
We’re in the midst now of the exhibitor rebooking process which we refer to as “Space Draw” at Reed Exhibitions. The good news is that many of our customers have come back to us with larger stand requests than originally anticipated so we’ve had to redraw the floor plan once more. We also have several sizable new companies looking to get into the show who will be allowed to select space once our existing customers are situated. All of this growth stems from the success of this year’s show, which we look to capitalize on in the coming years. As for improvements and enhancements, we always aim to provide the highest level of service to our exhibiting and visiting customers so carefully evaluating feedback in our post show surveys and adjusting accordingly will be paramount.

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