TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN) — The organizers behind the Taipei Cycle Show are quietly surveying exhibitors about whether to move the show — traditionally held in March — to either October or November next year.
However, if TAITRA were to make such a move next year, exhibitors may have to attend two shows — the 2017 Taipei Cycle Show already scheduled for March 22-25 at the Nangang Exhibition Center, and a second show later in the year.
But any move by TAITRA to produce a new show in the late fall of 2017 would put it into contention with Taichung Bike Week (TBW). This year Bike Week is set for Oct. 18-21 and, presumably, would maintain those approximate dates for 2017.
In TAITRA's three-question online survey, officials first asked which month would be most appropriate for the show: March or October.
It then asks if exhibitors and visitors would attend the already-scheduled March show and then return again in October 2017. And finally it asks if Taipei Cycle were rescheduled from March to October, would show-goers still attend?
Bike Week, loved by product managers for its informality and its location near many of the industry's key factories, and by suppliers for its low cost, has become much more complex over the last few years as the numbers of exhibitors and visitors have ballooned.
TBW is now spread out over four hotels in downtown Taichung — The Splendor, The Tempus, The Evergreen and The Lin Hotel. And TBW's website lists more than 460 companies currently registered for this year's event, a number of them from China.
However, Bike Week now hosts so many exhibitors and more than 4,000 visitors over four days that its early attraction as a quiet opportunity for product managers to meet informally with key suppliers has been lost.
And there have been ongoing discussions — and disagreements — among TBW's organizers, some Taichung city officials and some exhibitors over whether the event should move into a more traditional venue like a convention hall.
The Taipei Cycle Show, on the other hand, has seen a major shift over the last few years in attendance and in its focus. It has become much more of a show for suppliers and distributors to reach customers throughout Southeast Asia and is of less importance to visitors from Europe and the U.S.
At one time, the show was a focal point for product managers and others who came to Taipei to finalize plans for the new model year. It was also a venue where innovative new products, not yet in production, could be privately previewed. Much of that now happens at TBW since Taipei Cycle's March dates are too late for the industry.
