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Attendance at Computex may plummet

Concerns over increasing SARS cases may lead to lower attendance at Taiwan's top trade show, Computex Taipei, scheduled for June, a report from the government-funded Market Intelligence Center (市場情報中心) showed yesterday.

Reduced attendance will deal a heavy blow to manufacturers relying on trade shows to launch of new products, the report said.

The secretary general of Taiwan's trade-show organizer, China External Trade Development Council, expressed concern yesterday that SARS might keep overseas buyers away from Asia's largest computer trading exhibition, Computex Taipei.

"Yes for sure I am concerned about [SARS affecting] Computex," Chao Yuen-chuan (趙永全) said yesterday. "But there are still two months to go and we have a long waiting list."

Computex Taipei runs June 2 to June 6 and attracts more than 20,000 foreign visitors each year.

Chao said the council and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) sent out 200,000 letters to potential foreign buyers late last month to reassure them that Taipei is safe.

"The only thing we can do is tell them the facts," he said.

Shows will also have health-check stations where concerned visitors can have their temperature and blood pressure measured.

"Most shows are export-oriented, so exhibitors are concerned about the number of overseas buyers," Chao said.
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