In celebration of the World Trade Center Association (WTCA) Day last June 12, the WTCA Asia Pacific Regional Office (APRO) and APAC Trade Services MAC hosted the "2021 WTCA Day Celebration Special: Post-Pandemic Trend of WTC Business – An APAC Perspective.". The webinar featured our very own Ms. Pamela D. Pascual, WTCMM President and CEO, where she discussed how World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) is taking advantage of digitalization in the business of exhibitions during and post-pandemic.

Ms. Pascual shared that exhibitions, being a purely a face-to-face and physical experience, was deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, despite this unprecedented challenge, WTCMM was able to pivot and migrate its programs by taking advantage of digital platforms to reach out to its members, clients and network. In the most difficult time of the pandemic, WTCMM found strength in strategic partnerships and alliances by working with like-minded institutions to carry all its programs forward.

Firstly, WTCMM’s Certificate in International Trade (CIT) program is now being delivered online and provides learning access to students asynchronously. Through the partnership with Nephila Technology Inc., the company that carries Moodle, a learning management system, all the courses of CIT are now accessed in the digital platform by students. Partnerships with the American Chamber of Commerce and the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest university in Asia, were also put in place to aggressively market the CIT program to their respective markets.

The Markets of the World (MOW), one of the flagship events of WTCMM, is also being staged now through Zoom with free audience participation. WTCMM collaborates with relevant companies for speaking privilege through sponsorship that allows them to feature their products and services wrapped around the topic of discussion of the webinar.

Business Club members now benefit from a new distribution channel called WTCMM e-Marketplace, which was established through a partnership with Resellee, a fast-rising social e-commerce and shared inventory platform. This allows member companies and individuals to launch and enlist their products in the Resellee digital platform and build their own online store with zero capital.

Lastly, while waiting for event restrictions to ease up and to complement the services offered by WTCMM as a world-class venue for exhibitions, it is also now offering a virtual exhibition platform to its clients. Through a strong partnership with WTC Mumbai, it is now able to offer the option for trade show organizers to stage virtual or hybrid exhibitions.

Embracing the current situation has allowed WTCMM to open up new markets, generate new opportunities, and fuel growth amidst the most challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic.