Changes in exhibition and convention in the era of untact and online exhibition case study

Non-face-to-face(Untact) to prevent the spread of infectious diseases has become a part of our lives, and the exhibition and convention industry, which is based on face-to-face, has come to a situation where it has no choice but to seek new ways. The exhibition and convention industry is trying to make various efforts to quickly cope with these crises and the trend of ‘Untact’. This study aims to diagnose the present state of exhibition and convention in the era of untact with the spread of COVID-19, and to provide directions for future changes and responses. As a research method for this, basic literature, press releases, and actual online exhibitions were analyzed as examples. When exhibition and convention could not be held offline, online exhibitions appeared as an alternative, and online exhibitions started from the basic perception that everything in offline exhibitions should be implemented online. Under this recognition, we looked at the elements of online exhibitions as a means to get through the era of untact, focusing on examples. As a result of the analysis, for the online exhibition to be properly implemented, five essential components and functions were derived: image implementation, search function, real-time connection function, accompanying events, and data collection and analysis function. Regarding the future of online exhibitions, it may vary depending on the situation of COVID-19 and social changes, but it is expected that it is a little more likely to be complementary goods than a substitute for offline exhibitions. The proportion may change in the future, but in the current situation, the influence of offline is expected to continue for some time. Therefore, online exhibitions need to be used as a means to revitalize and develop offline exhibitions as well as a role that can be supplemented in parallel with offline exhibitions.