Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAR 2022年3月 亞博匯 60 FEATURES Gaming is finding out ahead of the return of ICE London. Originally scheduled in its traditional February timeslot, the emergence of the Omicron variant saw Clarion forced to postpone the 2022 event by more than two months until 12 to 14 April. But not all exhibitors are ready to come back just yet, with Novomatic, TCSJohnHuxley, Zitro, Merkur Gaming and Abbiati among a number to have withdrawn. “A multitude of adverse aspects – including the pandemic, logistical challenges and, last but not least, the unfavorable and unavoidable alternative date – have culminated in a situation in which participating in the show is no longer viable,” Novomatic said upon its withdrawal last month. Asked to propose an appropriate time for trade shows to return to Asia, IGT’s Sales Director, Asia, Michael Cheers, suggested late Q3 and into Q4 2022 as his ideal scenario. Stevanja agrees that it will likely still be some time before the industry is ready. “As we’ve all learnt during this pandemic, it is hard to predict a timeline for many areas of business, and nowhere is that more uncertain than for trade shows and events,” he said. “One key determinant of the timeline is the quarantine restrictions on international travellers – while they remain 被問及貿易展覽重返亞洲的合適時 間，IGT亞洲銷售總監Michael Cheers 表示，他認為理想時間是2022年第三 季度末至第四季度。Stevanja同樣同 意行業可能仍需要一段時間才能做好準 備。 他說：「正如我們在這次大流行期 間所了解到的，很難預測各種業務領域 的時間安排，而貿易展會和活動就更具 不確定性。」 「影響時間安排的一個關鍵因素是 對國際遊客的檢疫隔離限制。當這些限 制仍存在時，很難看到任何規模的活動 可以在該地區成功舉辦。我們期待著有 朝一日時機成熟，我們可以作為一個行 業安全地重聚，並在一個我們都熟悉和 喜愛的貿易展會上再次相見。」 有關未來的貿易展將會是甚麼樣 子，也一直存在著揮之不去的擔憂。儘 管過去很少有人願意這麼公開表達，但 《亞博匯》清楚，在新冠疫情爆發的前 幾年，許多供應商都對年度日曆上的活