As the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) prepare for full integration by 2015 under a single ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is one of the main objectives of the region’s economic integration, a key challenge is to find balance with regard to coherence and cooperation among member-countries.

However, the emergence of many relevant industry expos and conferences, particularly in the beauty, health and wellness sectors, is seen as the key ingredient in providing that balance and more importantly, make the planned integration a seamless and thorough activity.

This collaborative economic environment among nations of varying race and cultures will be unmistakably evident in a one-of-a-kind event called “International Beauty, Health and Wellness Expo,” which will be held on September 26-28, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Philippines.

For one, it will be a great platform for local players to finally hit the international expo scene where they can showcase and highlight their readiness to be globally competitive, with products and services ready to appeal to the global market—or at least on the ASEAN level, initially.

On the other hand, the expo can provide the perfect opportunity for international companies to gain a foothold in the local market by partnering with Philippine firms they can rely on as part of their expansion efforts and growth of their business in the country. This is good news for the local economy, for these possible economic linkages between local and international firms spell good things for players in the beauty, health and wellness industry and also the overall medical tourism in the country.

The “International Beauty, Health and Wellness Expo,” organized by Ex-Link Management and Marketing Services Corporation, is expected to attract more than 10,000 buyers/ trade   visitors  from here and abroad, and participated in by more than 200 of the country’s established and up-and-coming movers and shakers in the Health and Beauty, Fitness and Style, and Wellness and Relaxation circles. It will be the perfect avenue for sponsors and participants to meet, converge, exchange ideas and knowledge, establish market linkages, collaborate and agree on mutually beneficial transactions with the hope of growing the the industry further and make it one of the strongest business sectors in the region.

“A key objective of the single ASEAN community, under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration or ‘IAI,’ is to narrow the development divide between countries in the region and enhance ASEAN’s competitiveness as a region. Through this expo, we envision the participants working together to help find ways of strengthening areas of collaboration to grow their respective businesses and at the same time, tap other economic potentials that will help the health, beauty and wellness industries flourish even more in this century,” explains Mitch Ballesteros, Chief Executive Officer of Ex-Link Events.

Day 1 of the  expo  highlights   will feature  the  opening  talk  of  Dr.  Enrique  “ Eric” Tayag, Asst. Secretary  of  the  Dept . of  Health  with  the  ‘  Go  for  Health program , “  will  fire  up the  first  day   followed by the   personality development seminars, fashion and styling sessions ,discussion of fashion trends in the social media, an  Anniversary Dance Competition launch  dubbed  as  ” Healthway  Medical  Dance  for  Health.. A  healthy  way  to  live” ..  featuring  its   corporate  partners   will  sure  to  enliven  the  stage  area  with a fashion show from one of the country’s top fashion institutes round up the first day.

Meanwhile, talks on health, beauty, skin care, alternative medicine , stress  management  , personal  mastery  seminars  are  set   on the   2nd  day   with  Zumba party  with  the  expo  highlight  dubbed   as  Health and  Wellness  Summit.

On Day 3, learn physical fitness techniques, martial arts and sports from some of the country’s renowned sports and fitness gurus .

Another  highlight of  the  industry  expo  is  the  Spa Party  and   Asian  Massage   Show  for   qualified   trade  visitors  and  buyers, Grand  Salads   Show  at  the  event dining  area  and  the  Grand  Organic  Show at  the expo  area.  Trade  visitors  and  buyers  are  invited  to  pre-register for   qualification online  via www.exlinkevents.com / www.beautyhealthwellnessexpo.com.ph to   enjoy  event   perks  and    privileges during  the event.

“It’s about time that we broaden the marketability of the Philippines in the international scene through expos like this  especially  in the beauty , health and  wellness industry.  We have a comparative advantage in the health and wellness tourism industry among others because we have exceptional products and state-of-the-art facilities, world-class, caring and compassionate medical practitioners, our fluency in English and of course, competitive cost, making this industry one of the major sectors for economic growth, and that is what we want to highlight,” adds Ballesteros.

Some  international   and  local   exhibitors  and  supporters  are  CONSUCARE INC SDN BHD,  FARCENT ENTERPRISE CO., LTD , BIONIVA WELLNESS , AMBERTRONICS  ,NORTHFIELD LAB. ,MEGAWORLD ,PILLARS 5 INC ,GLOSSONS ,RJ TECH ,WESIS ENTERPRISES,CITIBANK N.A ,HOFFMANN ,GENASIA TEKNIKA ,PRESTIGE BRANDS PHILS INC ,MAXICARE HEALTHCARE CORPORATION ,JUSTNAIL INTL/BEAUTYKINDOM

C.K.M ENTERPRISE , HEALTHWAY  MEDICAL ,LA FAON CO.LTD ,ASIA PACIFIC COSMETICS PHILS. ,GEMILANG 4U INTL PHILS.DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER ,LAWIS EQUIPMENTS,PHILINDIA AYURVEDIC CORPORATION ,METRO BANK , ,SKINLINE COMPANY ,A.R.M SKINESSENTIALS CORP ,PHILIPPINE RETIREMENT AUTHORITY ,BTL MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES ,NAOMI INTERNATIONAL EXIMPORT ,CHEF BEN ,SWEET ANGEL ,METROWEALTH/WAKI ,DMI MEDICAL SUPPLY CO., INC

PROSEL PHARMA DISTRIBUTORS INC , DLA NATURALS INC ,BIO-NORMALIZER TRADING PHILS., ALVEO LAND CORP , ,ISLAND COVE ,BEAUTY SECRET ,VENUSTAS ENTERPRISE ,SHINAGAWA ,BLUE DYNAMICS INC ,FORTRESS MARKETING ,BEAUTY ELEMENTS VENTURES INC ,BEAUCHE INTERNATIONAL, JOHN ROBERT POWERS ,Q DYNAMICS GLOBAL CORPORATION ,EMTECH WELLNESS INTERNATIONAL PTE. LTD (international) ,SKIN RITUALS ,TAYLOR TYLER HERBAL HAIRSPA & SALON ,GOLDWARE ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS CORP. ,MTN ESTHETIQUE SUPPLIES INC ,RAEMULAN LANDS, INC. ,BODY FORMS PHILIPPINES, PHARMA CANADA ,FINIX ,ASIAN EYE INSTITUTE ,BLUE CROSSINSURANCE INC ,HEALTH IS IN ,BIOSANITARY NAPKIN/SANTE INT/LOTION,CENTER FOR AESTHETIC STUDIES, CHAMBER  OF  HERBAL  INDUSTRIES  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES , ZEN INSTITUTE  and  a lot  more…

For  those  who  are  interested in participating in the “International Beauty, Health and Wellness Expo,” happening on September 26-28, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, pre-register online via www.exlinkevents.com or www.beautyhealthwellnessexpo.com to avail of free entrance to the event and the limited buyers' entitlements on business matching/ buyer seller meet up sessions with  exhibitors/ sponsors . For details, text 0920-9242532/09209814376 or call 6437760/ 6433887 e-mail info@exlinkevents.com. 

This may look like easy, a walk in the park. But it is not.

We all want our customers to be happy. No company wants angry customers.

But our practices say otherwise. We lack the program and process to make them happy. In effect, we lose their business. Losing their business mean our company downfall.

How about creating a program and process to make them happy? How about taking it to a higher level? Say creating a Loyalty and Rewards Program that will wow them - a Loyalty and Rewards Program that will allow them to feel appreciated.

Appreciation is another easy to understand term but putting this into a business system where it is felt – that is the challenge.

QR Code or Quick Response Code is prevalent in our commercial transactions. No doubt, QR Code is a great way in promoting our business further. Just a scan of the code and the customers can get all the necessary information of our company and offerings.

However, in our country, in particular in events, QR Codes still have a big hump to get over with. This is the internet connection.

In fact, even in some events in other countries that places QR codes as one of its tool the fast connectivity is an issue. Like me, I see a lot of users getting frustrated in using QR Codes because of the slow, slow, slow connectivity and sometimes no connectivity in the internet at all.

Hong Kong is one benchmark of fast internet connectivity and no surprise QR code as a tool is getting high at the promotion tool pedestal.

So, I say yes to QR Code only if we can improve the connectivity of our internet.

Just recently, I have a vendor who boasts the effectiveness of QR Code. I expressed my doubts to him. He said as a reply that they have already made adjustments. Even in great doubt, I showed my confidence. On the actual day of the events, QR Codes scanning is a headache for us the event manager and for the visitors.

You guess it! we are back to the good old calling cards and flyers in that particular event. And my friend, just give me his childish grin.

But all is not lost; QR Code is still the future.

The process rolls and events manager do what was expected by client A. However at the end of the day, client A was not happy. At the same time, you as an event manager felt something is not right.

These situations take place because of the conflict between “what was expected and what was needed”.

Sometimes, the client does not know what he needs. In these types of clients, the event manager must act as a consultant; he must try to uncover the needs of the client before the event takes place.

It is easy to say but hard to do in uncovering the needs of the client. However, we as event manager have no choice if we want to satisfy the client and help his organization make the most out of the event.

Again, the expectations are sometimes different from what are needed. The key in uncovering is to probe the client and bring out these needs.

There is an attempt to reduce and eventually eliminate events and tradeshows as a platform. In the name of innovation and armed with cutting edge technology a more low cost means of tools were developed to displace events and tradeshows in its current standing.

Results of the attempt are far from satisfactory and bordering to an exercise in futility.

Those that attempted to displace it forget the one thing that events and tradeshows are well loved by people - the INTENSITY OF ENGAGEMENT.

Engagement in events and tradeshows bring a very intimate experience. Engagement is what human connection really is. On the deeper level we need an authentic connection.

Technology can aid the process but to provide the level of intimate connection it is still events and tradeshows.

Rising from a world economic recession in 2008, the global tourism industry is now gaining momentum for sustained growth, and so is the Philippines, powered by vacationing overseas Filipinos worldwide (OFWs) and an increasing number of visitors from East Asian countries.

          Such is the phenomenon behind the emergence of the forthcoming International Travel Festival (ITF) 2013, now covering, not only what used to be a solely inbound promotional event dubbed “Travel Philippines Show”, but also outbound travel named “Euro-AmeriAsian Travel, Trade & Cultural Expo.”

          The inclusion of both inbound and outbound travel makes the ITF a boon to a genuine two-way tourism traffic, enabling it to contribute to the growth of the global tourism industry now reportedly worth an estimated $1.15 trillion from a yearly revenue rise of 1.5 percent over the past five years.

          ITF organizer Exlink Events says the Philippines can also benefit from the foreign trips of its citizens through new product ideas, business concepts, knowledge and discoveries, innovations and technologies, and modern insights that they will bring with them on their return home.

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          “At the same time, the foreign-based international airlines that fly Filipinos to overseas destinations will also have to bring in tourists from abroad in their return flights,” said Exlink chief executive officer Mitch Ballesteros.

         

“Thus, the net effect of brisk inbound and outbound travel is a thriving tourism industry that gets a boost from both ends,” Ballesteros explained, citing tourism’s total contribution of $6.3 trillion and 255 million jobs to the global economy in 2011 alone.\

          “This positive development makes the International Travel Festival very timely, effectively promoting the Philippines as a major player in global tourism, not just as a tourist destination, but also as a preferred source of worldclass tourists,” Ballesteros pointed out.

To participate in the International Travel Festival are exhibitors from both inbound and outbound sectors involving airlines, hotels and resorts, travel agencies, tour operators, MICE (meetings, incentive travel, conventions and events) organizers, shopping malls and retail chains, transfers and transport firms, cruise ships and domestic passenger vessels, telecommunication companies, destination owners and managers, banks and financial institutions, and the academe and various service providers, among many others.

          To be showcased at the expo are both local and foreign destinations and travel establishments, making it a truly international event that can help the Department of Tourism attain its target 10 million foreign and 56 million domestic tourists by 2016.

The International Travel Festival is slated at the SMX Convention Center on December 11 to 12.

More information about the event can be obtained from EX-LINK Management and Marketing Services Corporation (tel: 632 6433887; fax: 632 6401280; email: info@exlinkevents.com; or visit www.exlinkevents.com).