One of the industry’s little secrets is actually a major trade show that attracts almost three times the number of attendees as the annual Satellite show in Washington, D.C. The Broadcast, Cable and Satellite Eurasia Expo and Conference held annually in November in Istanbul, Turkey attracted over 14,000 attendees in 2007 and 511 exhibiting companies from 44 countries. The exhibition and conference’s main draw is the emerging market of over 500 million people in the Eurasian region where Turkey is a major center.
Turkey’s dynamic growth requires foreign investment and the market is still wide open for newcomers, so this is the best time to get into this emerging market,” said Dennis Smith, Managing Director of Hannover Fairs-Turkey, the show’s organizer. HF-Turkey is a subsidiary of the Germany-based event organizing company CeBit, which organizes the lagest exhibition in the world in Hanover, Germany of the same name. In addition to BCS Eurasia, HF-Turkey also organizes an IT event, CeBit Bilisim, also in Istanbul every October that attracts a staggering over 140,000 attendees.
While participation from European satellite companies in the show are very good, Smith laments that participation from North American companies can be improved. Of the 511 exhibiting companies only 10-20 are from North America. Smith would like to see that number change.
As the organizer of the event, and as a North American myself, I can say whether you participate in CeBit Bilisim or BCS Eurasia, depending on what field you are focusing on—the chances of getting at least a representative or distributor in the region is close to a 100 percent,” added Smith.
One incentive to go is that there are no registration fees for foreign attendees at the show, which includes a high-powered conference featuring key industry leaders such as Ferdinand Kayser, CEO and President of SES Astra, among others. Istanbul itself is a magnificent city blending exotically a richly historic past and a dynamic and modern present.
But as pointed out earlier, the main reason to go is the huge potential of the region and the possibility of developing partnerships and signing lucrative contracts with companies hungry for new technology and services. But you better do it soon, as this window of opportunity may not be a little secret for long.
For more information on BCS Eurasia’08 visit <http://www.cebit-bcs.com
For sponsorship and exhibit information, contact Dennis Smith at +90 212 334 69 00 or e-mail: dennis.smith@hf-turkey.com
