The next Singapore Airshow in 2016 will be expanded in several key areas of growing interest to the wider aerospace and defense industries. The new Training & Simulation Zone, first introduced at the February 2014 show, is expected to almost double in size to include military exhibitors. Show organizer Experia Events (Chalet B18) is also planning a new dedicated Business Aviation Zone and an Aerospace Emerging Technologies Zone.
“The show needs to be bigger and better,” said Experia’s new managing director Leck Chet Lam. “We want to stay relevant to the industry and we need to focus on its multi-faceted developments such as new trends in training and 3-D production techniques.”
The show expects to boost its attendee base from the 45,000 who came to the 2012 event (from 125 different countries). Around 30 percent of these visitors came from southeast Asia (excluding Singapore itself). There were 26 percent from the rest of the Asia Pacific region, 20 percent from the Americas, 19 percent from Europe and 5 percent from the Middle East and Africa.
Among the 2014 exhibitors the presence of Chinese companies almost doubled compared with the 2012 show. There was also a special pavilion for Hong Kong-based exhibitors for the first time.
The official delegation programs have always been a strength of the Singapore show, and especially the delegations from Asia Pacific countries. In 2014, there were 274 delegations from 76 countries, including top-level defense officials.
According to Experia, its most recent survey of exhibitors showed high approval ratings for the way the show is organized. “We are still working to improve every aspect of the air show experience so that things such as getting passes is more seemless and it is a more holistic experience that adds value,” Leck told AIN.