NBAA has cancelled the 2009 Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE). The event was scheduled to take place in Hong Kong on February 11 and 12, and the association announced the cancellation on December 23 in response to the worsening economic situation.

“NBAA recognizes the importance of Asia to the future of business aviation, and we will continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Asian Business Aviation Association to promote the growth of business aviation in that part of the world,” commented NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “But ABACE requires a huge commitment of resources–from our member companies, from exhibitors and from NBAA. And, at a time when our economy is moving into its second year of a recession, NBAA is not in a position to provide ABACE with the attention and resources required to make the show the success it needs to be for our attendees and exhibitors.”

The association has indicated that it intends to stage the show in future years, as and when economic conditions permit. The third annual ABACE show, held in February 2008 in Hong Kong, drew 1,131 visitors, 29 exhibitors and 14 aircraft.
In recent years, Asia has been targeted by the business aviation industry as a key growth market. However, the past few months have seen clear evidence that economic growth is now slowing in countries such as China, which appear not to be as immune to the West’s financial crisis as had originally been supposed.