EXSA NEWS

The benefits of joining EXSA

The business case for belonging to an association in our industry has never been stronger.

By Gavin Burgess, managing director of Technology Partners.

In the exhibitions space, the rapid return of major trade shows demonstrates the yearn for businesses to engage in the most effective form of marketing and networking. The same holds true for consumer shows, where visitors have turned up in droves to be part of events that they have missed for two years.

This swift return to industry has highlighted the deficit of human resources, and more notably the skills, of people that had no choice but to leave the industry. Simultaneously, new players have emerged, and existing contenders have had to find ways to make their unique value proposition stand out again.

In a sector that depends and thrives on collaboration, belonging to an industry association is arguably the best tool we can leverage to network with our peers and learn about how to stay ahead of emerging trends – while at the same time sharpening the skills that many have taken decades to cultivate.

EXSA has a strong set of membership benefits aligned with our ethos of providing our members with opportunities to connect, engage, learn, and grow. Unique to EXSA is the benefit of zero-rated VAT for trading with international clients, which eliminates a significant barrier to entry for our members.

We also actively work with our members to keep them informed up to the minute on any mission-critical developments during exhibition builds and breakdowns. At our regular EXSA Connects sessions we tackle real-world issues and provide tangible solutions, and our strong and exceptionally diverse board is always directly contactable for advice and assistance on a national level.

At EXSA, we have seen a sharp increase of 43 per cent in our membership base over the past six months alone, which is strong evidence of an industry-wide need to bridge the gap of rebuilding business this year and into 2023.

Did you know?

There is always EXSA representation at every major exhibition nationwide in South Africa. Both members and non-members alike can approach us for advice during stand builds and breakdowns.