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July 2020 Vol 7 Issue 12 Asia’s Most Read Magazine On Exhibitions
The industry all over the world is striving to restart operations even on a small scale as feasible in current scenario. Internationally, there have been few trade shows which took place despite Covid 19. These beginnings provide encouragement for industry worldwide to remain optimistic. In India too, despite all odds we should work towards a date to restart MICE industry keeping in view various projections of COVID 19 curve. As of now it seems that we can expect few exhibitions taking place in the third quarter of this FY. The India MICE Alliance and industry experts have formulated a SOP for reopening of MICE industry in prevailing Covid 19 situation with all feasible safeguards for an organized gathering and have recommended the same to the Government for its consideration. We also need to think of small exhibitions on a regional format which is a need for the country keeping in view its size and diversity.
Rajesh Agrawal, IAS, Executive Director, ITPO and Chairman, India MICE Alliance
INTERNATIONAL M.I.C.E. SHOWCASE 2.0 An Enlightening Virtual Summit To Reect The Preparedness Of The MICE Sector To Bounce Back Effectively
September 11-12, 2020
Over 2000 Industry professionals, inuencers & leaders, Exhibition organisers, Professional Conference Organizers, DMC's, MICE operators, Government ofcials, industry associations, EPC's, MICE stakeholders from all across the globe will attend this one of its kind event. Advisory Partner
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Are We Ready? Peep Into The Future Upcoming Global Trends Caution Recommended Drivers Of Growth Evolution To Excellence
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M I C E Showcase
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PSU BUZZ
Dear Readers, It was a pleasure to be invited by Hyve Group to their Global Town hall on 7th July. Usually Town halls are meant for the internal employees of an organisa on but this me there was a twist and as a single outsider Hyve had me invited as an industry expert, to share my insights on the overall scenario of the exhibi on industry. During the course of my conversa on with the Hyve Team and their Regional Director - Asia, Hyve Group Plc - Gordon Payne, some the main points which I addressed were:
M I C E Showcase &
PSU BUZZ
It is cri cal to remain posi ve and confident, exhibitors need our pla orms to re-engage with their clients, pent up demand. Shows may be impacted this year; we should be realis c that some customers may not be able to a end but focus on those that are coming – they absolutely need the pla orm. Many shows around the world have been impacted but we see that the businesses are now gradually re-opening. It is therefore important that we keep engaging with our clients and par cipants, re-store their belief in us and our pla orms. It is important to take some confidence building measures. We see that many countries have allowed for exhibi ons to re-open by separa ng them from general mass gatherings and that in India too we are hopeful for an early resump on of exhibi ons with SOPs for re-opening already submi ed to the Govt. of India by ITPO via the IMA ini a ve. It is also important to treat Virtual as a Friend and not as a Foe. There is absolutely no doubt that virtual cannot replace physical and there is nothing to feel threatened about. The virtual will also act as an added chunk in our armoury and will be useful in these mes when actual travelling is not possible. Going ahead, as I see it, hybrid model will evolve. I also men oned that exhibi ons are going to become even more relevant because there is going to be a spur in demand and domes c produc on. India will emerge as a key market for interna onal players because of many reasons and our AatamNirbharBharat agenda will only fuel the industry further. I men oned that our venues are ready for safe re-opening with special measures towards health, safety and sani sa on. I ended up by highligh ng about how Venue Capacity in India is increasing and we are right up there with good number of purpose-built venues for large interna onal exhibi ons and conferences, with capacity upgrades at BIEC and IEML (15,000 sqmt by October, 2020 & an upcoming hotel) and construc on updates from New Praga Maidan – IECC ( project comple on in 2021) and IICC – Dwarka (phase 1 by early 2021 with about 60,000 sqm indoor space & IICC conven on centre which will also be about 60,000 sqm. It was certainly interes ng & rewarding to meet the highly commi ed team and leaders of Hyve. Do read this issue to get some interes ng highlights from the world of exhibi ons. We have on our cover, Mr. Rajesh Agrawal, IAS, ED, ITPO and Chairman, India MICE Alliance. We also have some interes ng updates and exclusive interviews from Interna onal markets. Do share your feedback with me at raghav@exhibi onshowcase.com Stay safe and take care.
World Map - News From The World Of Exhibitions Pg. 10-11
Pg. 12-19 Gartex Texprocess India Announces New Dates For Delhi & Mumbai Editions 49th Edition Of IHGF-Delhi Fair Opened On Virtual Platform: PM Modi Also Sent In Wishes
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India International Jewellery Show (IIJS) Rescheduled To January 2021
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Exhibitions India Group Announces Dates For 28th Convergence India & 6th Smart Cities India Expos
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Pg. 20-41 Exhibition Showcase Talks To Rajesh Agrawal, IAS, Executive Director, ITPO and Chairman, India MICE Alliance
20-24
Exhibition Showcase Talks To Simha Shastry, CEO, Prime Events & Conferences
34-35
In Conversation With Stephan Murtagh, Managing Director The Exhibition Guy Group
36-38
In Conversation With Berislav Čižmek, CEO CBBS - Management Consulting & Business Building Company
39-41
Pg. 42-57
Group Editor : Raghav Khosla Design : Firoz Accounts : Pappu Yadav
Eurobike Set To Take Place On November 24-26
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Messe Frankfurt Celebrates Its 780th Anniversary – By Getting Back To Business
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Reed Exhibitions Publishes Framework For Reopening Events
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Hong Kong's Annual Book Fair Postponed At Last Minute Amid Covid-19 Resurgence
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Cosmopack And Cosmoprof Asia To Be Held Under One Roof In 2020
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Trade Fairs Can Restart In Germany From September- 2020
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ICC Sydney Launches Industry Leading Hybrid Event Solutions
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V-Commerce And The Future Of Trade Fairs
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IELA Talk #8 Americas – Winning Confidence Back
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Redefining The Future Of The Exhibition Industry - The Final Report From The Exhibitions Think Tank
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Germany Tradefairs in Germany will take place as of September, tradefair associa on AUMA insisted in a statement, 17 June, following press reports had implied tradefairs were caught up in the government’s ban on mass events. The German federal states agreed on 17 June 2020 that mass events generally will stay prohibited un l 31 October 2020. Folk and street-fes vals and other public events of such kind are included in that category. The direc ve does not apply to tradefairs, AUMA has emphasised, reminding that the policy in this sphere was determined by the agreement of the federal states on 6 May 2020.
San Diego The San Diego Conven on Center has served as a temporary regional homeless shelter for approximately 1,200 people as part of the City of San Diego-funded Opera on Shelter to Home ini a ve, designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among the city's homelessness popula on. The SDCC is sheltering and feeding individuals previously assisted by local nonprofit human services organiza ons including Alpha Project, Father Joe's Village and Veterans Village of San Diego.
USA Go LIVE Together Coali on Aims to Protect the Trade Show and Live Events Industry. Go Live Together is a coali on of 80 founding partners – represen ng over 4,000 companies with U.S. opera ons – who have joined forces to support legisla ve ac ons that will aid the industry’s recovery from COVID-19. The coali on is bound together by the belief that nothing in the world will ever replace the power and need for trade shows and live events. Visit www.golivetogether.com to learn more.
Seoul South Korea's trade minister said the country will con nue to promote open trade amid growing protec onism in the a ermath of the new Covid-19 pandemic, calling for major trade partners to join efforts to normalise the virus-hit global supply chain, the Yonhap news agency reported. "In the post-pandemic era, the global environment for trade and commerce will change dras cally," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during a video conference with experts around the globe, hosted by the Korea Interna onal Trade Associa on (KITA). During the conference, deputy director-general Alan Wolff of the World Trade Organiza on (WTO) echoed the view, saying the global body will make efforts to promote the travel of the essen al workforce while abolishing unnecessary trade regula ons.
Singapore
Rwanda In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union (AU) and the Government of Rwanda have decided to postpone by one year the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) ini ally set to take place from 1 to 7 September 2020 in Kigali, Rwanda. Organised by Afreximbank in collabora on with the AU, the second IATF will s ll be hosted by the Government of Rwanda and is now scheduled to take place from 6 to 12 September 2021 in Kigali. It will now be dubbed IATF2021.
G a m e s co m A s i a , a n o ffs h o o t o f Germany's Gamescom, which is one of the world's largest gaming events, will take place from Oct 14 to 17 next year. It had been scheduled from Oct 15 to 18 this year. Its organiser, German trade fair co m p a ny Ko e l n m e s s e , s a i d i n a statement yesterday that the decision was made to protect the health of visitors, exhibitors and staff. Gamescom, which has been held in Cologne every year since 2009, is a highlight in the gaming world. Last year's show a racted 373,000 visitors and around 1,150 exhibitors from more than 50 countries, making it the industry's biggest event. The venue for Gamescom Asia, Suntec Singapore Conven on and Exhibi on Centre, remains unchanged.
Australia ICC Sydney Won Australia's Best Major Event Venue At Mea Awards held on 29 May 2020. Australia’s premier conven on, exhibi on and entertainment centre won Best Event Venue – Capacity over 1500 and the Event Legacy Award, while also proving people are key to its success, with Food and Beverage Services Manager, Marc Singerling, taking home Opera onal Person of the Year and Pla num Event Professional for the Year. The Event Legacy Award was won by ICC Sydney for the implementa on of its Legacy Program for SIBOS 2018. The event for over 7,500 people set an industry benchmark for waste diversion, community engagement, dona ons to local chari es and delivered an es mated economic benefit of $40 million to the Australian economy.
News Buzz
Gartex Texprocess India Announces New Dates For Delhi & Mumbai Edi ons edi on. The three-day fair provides a holis c experience to par cipants not just by way of an extensive display of exhibits, but also through a series of seminars and workshops aimed at facilita ng dialogue that highlight on trends, opportuni es and challenges for the business of tex les. Prominent highlights of the show include Denim Show, Embroidery Zone, Garmen ng & Apparel Machinery Zone, Digitex Show, India Laundry Show and Fabrics & Trims Show. Between now and its opening in December 2020, the organisers aim to con nue to keep the industry connected through its webinar series to draw focus on sustainable measures and support the sector during its recovery phase.
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ith an objec ve to support the swi revival of the garment and tex le industry, Gartex Texprocess India is back with new dates for its Delhi and Mumbai edi ons. While the Delhi edi on will take place from 17 – 19 December 2020 in Greater Noida, the Mumbai edi on has been scheduled in March 2021. Following detailed consulta ons with industry stakeholders, organisers – MEX Exhibi ons Pvt Ltd and Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India, have announced new dates for Gartex Texprocess India's Delhi and Mumbai edi ons. Originally scheduled in August 2020, the New Delhi edi on of Gartex Texprocess India has now been pushed ahead to 17 – 19 December 2020 at India Expo Mart (IEML) in Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR, whereas the Mumbai edi on will take place from 19 – 21 March, 2021 at Bombay Exhibi on Center, Mumbai. The organisers believe that the new dates will ensure op mal revival of trade and provide addi onal me to exhibitors to plan their exhibits and product launches more effec vely in the current 12 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
environment. The decision which was taken on the basis of feedback from exhibitors, partners and industry associa ons, also aims to ensure that the event serves its objec ves of business, knowledge and tech-exchange in a more meaningful way when the en re tex le fraternity can come together. Exhibi ons are a crucial tool to revive businesses and boost economy. Networking in a safe and controlled environment is an effec ve way for industries to get back on track, especially for the garment and tex le industry that sees Gartex Texprocess as an indispensable channel for marke ng, showcasing innova ons and forging valuable partnerships in the long run. Gartex Texprocess India is a trusted industry pla orm offering immersive experience to both exhibitors and visitors and has transformed the way stakeholders operate in garment & tex le machinery industry. The key business event comes packed with the experience and exper se of two major exhibi on organisers and draws thousands of quality visitors in every
Gartex Texprocess India is a comprehensive trade show on garment tex le machinery. The show is targeted to address the interests of those who wish to reach out to the tex le and garment machinery & accessories market in India. Ac ng as the defini ve gateway to provide excellent quality and one-stop selling and sourcing pla orm, the event will showcase products, services and technologies related to the complete produc on chain. Gartex Texprocess India 2020 is designed to be the trendse er for the industry player to showcase new technology, stateof-the-art equipment, materials and services. The Show hopes to accelerate technological advances in the Indian tex le & garments industry through the showcase of high-quality, high-speed and compe vely-priced products. It will also provide a unique pla orm for interna onal and na onal suppliers and trade visitors to expand their business opportuni es in the garment and tex le industry in India through networking and engaging in investment opportuni es during the show.
July 2020
News Buzz
49th Edi on Of IHGF-Delhi Fair Opened On Virtual Pla orm: PM Modi Also Sent In Wishes She wished success for everyone associated with the show. Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce & Industry also sent in his wishes and said that Handicra s & Gi s fair is now being held on virtual pla orm giving everyone a new experience in this period of covid crisis. The Commerce Minister commended the efforts of EPCH for se ng up of fantas c world of handicra s and gi s items under roof of IHGF-Delhi fair being produced by the 7 millions talented ar sans working with more than 11,000 members of the EPCH and providing marke ng pla orm thereby crea ng brand image of Indian Handicra s in the world market.
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49th edi on of IHGF-DELHI FAIR virtual inaugurated by Smt. Smri Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister of Tex les and Minister of Women & Child Development.
grow into global brands and this will take handicra sector to new heights of vibrancy and prosperity.
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he Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi also sent in his good wishes to EPCH on the organisation of 49th edi on of IHGF-Delhi fair virtual amidst Corona crisis and said it reflects the indomitable spirit to con nue furthering the efforts to strengthen the Handicra s Sector. In his message PM also conveyed that Indian handicra s have been celebrated the world over for their ar s c innova on and crea ve richness and has carved a niche in the Internaonal market. Moreover handicra sector develops, more opportuni es our ar sans and cra smen will be ge ng. He also said that world is seeing India as a trustworthy and reliable partner and India is also working towards building a self reliant and self-sufficient India. In today’s scenario, he urged everyone to be vocal about local so that our local products 13 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Smt. Smri Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister of Tex les & Minister of Women and Child Development while inaugura ng the fair said during covid pandemic EPCH brought IHGF Delhi fair on virtual pla orm in which large number of exporters will be showcasing beauty and workmanship of Indian handicra s. Small, micro and medium exporters of India will be happy to engage with buying agents, buying houses from across the world in the virtual fair.
Handicra s item are reflec on of human talent at its best and the sweat and blood of people who have transmi ed this art form, from genera on to genera on and what is being offered to the world is not only the labour of love of young person who have created that art piece but also speaks about genera on of knowledge. He wished the best of shopping experience for all the visitors on the virtual pla orm and hope they have a good success. Shri Ravi Capoor, Secretary Tex les, Ministry of Tex les said as usual EPCH is in forefront and has taken lead in organizing first of its kind mega virtual fair in which large number of buyers and sellers will be mee ng. He further said it is an excellent lead during the covid pandemic and hoped that 49th edi on of IHGF Delhi fair on virtual pla orm will be a big success and conclude with huge amount of business and set precedents for organizing many more virtual fairs like this by various sectors on this country. Shri Shantmanu, Development Commissioner [ Handicra s ] said that for the first me IHGF - Delhi fair is being held at virtual pla orm which is need of the hour.
July 2020
News Buzz
India has a wide range of handicra s which covers all aspects of lives such as kitchenware, fashionwear, bathroom ware, furniture and gi s etc. He also said as buyers wants good quality products and it has been ensured that products being shown at the fair meets the requirement of the buyers as local material and techniques have been used to produce these items by the ar sans who have put in their heart and soul.
Rakesh Kumar, Director General, EPCH
number of buyers across the globe have registered to visit the show.
Shri Ravi K. Passi, Chairman – EPCH said that the challenges posed before us during this COVID-19 crisis had led us to brainstorm and to present before the exporters a viable alternate business model in the form of virtual fair. This is much bigger show as it is a mul -products show displaying a wide range of Home, Lifestyle, Fashion, Furniture and Tex les products.
Houseware, Bathroom accessories, lawn, garden ornaments & accessories, lamps, ligh ng & accessories, furniture, furniture hardware & accessories, home furnishing & madeups, Carpets, rugs and floorings, fashion jewellery & Accessories, decora ve, gi s including corporate gi s, Christmas & fes ve décor, hand made paper, gi wraps & ribbons including so toys and candles, incense s cks, potpourri products will be on display.
Shri Kumar further elaborated that the virtual IHGF Delhi fair is being par cipated by more than 1500 exporters from all parts of the country. Besides this, there will be thema c displays of the cra of Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern region of the country, apart from various webinars, Panel Discussion, Master Class, Cra Demonstra ons, fashion shows etc. With the overwhelming response from both the exhibitors as well as buying community, the show will generate an excellent business enquiries as large
The main countries from where buyers are coming includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mauri us, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,
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Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, UAE, UK, USA, Uruguay and many more. Buyers from companies/ departmental stores who have already confirmed their visit to the show includes Cost Plus World Market, Anthropologie, Ralph Lauren, WKND-WYFR, Urban Ou i ers, Mudpie, Cracker Barrel, TJX, Wisteria, Bed Bath and Beyond from USA, , Tchibo, Marc O Polo, Impression from Germany, Pick n Pay from South Africa, Fox Home from Israel, Riviera Maison, Edelman BV from Netherlands, Carrefour from France, Bunnings Warehouse from Australia, Tesco, Ross, Next from UK, Migros from Switzerland and Kif Kif Imports, Canada. Not only overseas buyers, department stores of renowned countries, major Indian Retail/online brands such as Bombay Store Ltd, Synergy Lifestyles, Fab India Overseas Pvt Ltd, Goodearth Design Studio Pvt. Ltd., Reliance Retail, Walmart, Asian Paints Ltd, Raymond Limited, Amazon, Myntra, Archies, Pepperfry, Alibaba.com, Shoperstop, Ferns & Patels, Shruberry Lifestuyles, The Purple Turtels, Westside, Sleepwell, Praxis Home Retail Ltd (Hometown), Trent Limited (West Side),Urban Ladder, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited and many more will also be making their presence felt on virtual pla orm. The Handicra s exports during the year 2019-20 was Rs. 25,027.08 crores informed by Shri Kumar, DG – EPCH.
July 2020
News Buzz
India Interna onal Jewellery Show (IIJS) Rescheduled To January 2021
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he Gem and Jewellery Export Promo on Council (GJEPC), the organisers of the show, a er consulta on with the par cipants from India and other countries, have decided to reschedule the event in January 2021. IIJS Premiere witnesses the industry's biggest gathering of domes c and interna onal buyers, and serves as the primary pla orm for Indian jewellery manufacturers to network with retailers, enabling both segments to gain insight into product design and demand trends. IIJS Premiere has received global recogni on with visitors from over 80 countries and 800-plus ci es from India. Every year, more than 1,300 domes c and interna onal exhibitors par cipate in this jewellery extravaganza. The show a racts over 40,000 domes c and interna onal visitors every year. Colin Shah, Chairman, GJEPC said, “IIJS Premiere is organised each year during the first week of August. However, this year due to Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures taken by various countries and jewellery fraternity, the show has been postponed to January 2021. We will duly consult the Government, to chart out stringent safety norms, while also ensuring that business returns to normal. IIJS would remain to be the most awaited Jewellery buying experiences of the year and the show would be organized without compromising on anyone's safety. The team is proac vely planning on a new format to bring the industry together once again”. Vipul Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, said, “IIJS Premiere has been rescheduled to an appropriate me in January. We are also hopeful that our interna onal visitors and delega ons would be able to visit the IIJS Premiere, as we are expec ng everything would return to normal towards the end of this year. The year 2021 will see a lot of 15 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
weddings taking place, including the ones that were cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020. The resultant demand for jewellery would be significant and the IIJS Premiere would be an opportunity for our retailers to restock their inventory for the new season post Covid 2019.” Shailesh Sangani, Convener, Na onal Exhibi on, GJEPC, noted, “IIJS Premiere 2021 will be the first show of the calendar year, held on the same scale and size as that of IIJS Premiere, maintaining all safety norms post Covid 2019. We are taking all precau ons to ensure that the safety of exhibitors and visitors will be paramount during the show. All virtual mediums will be strengthened for the show and more mediums will be ac vated. Essen ally, it will be IIJS Premiere in the slot of IIJS Signature 2021 with the look, feel and delivery of both shows combined together. Naturally, it will be of a much larger capacity with a greater number of booths and exhibitors. So we are hopeful of welcoming everyone to this show. We are confident that the start of the fresh year
in 2021, will give people more reasons to celebrate.” Exhibitors from ci es, namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Coimbatore, Amritsar, Junagadh, Thrissur and many more would be part of the show in January. The show a racts visitors from all major metros and semi-metro ci es including Hyderabad, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Calicut, Chandigarh, Ernakulam, Gurugram, Indore, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mysore, Nagpur, Pune, Secunderabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Nellore, Palanpur, Patna, Pondicherry, Ujjain, Vizag and hundreds of ci es in India. IIJS Premiere will con nue to be the biggest sourcing event for jewellers catering to ethnic Indian communi es or Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), especially in the SAARC and Middle East countries. The event is supported by over 200 gem and jewellery associa ons from India and overseas, who will all be part of the endeavour.
July 2020
Glimpses of
EEA 2019
News Buzz
New Dates Announced For The Maiden New Delhi Edi on Of Screen Print India
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ith the implementa on of Unlock 2.0 by the government, businesses in India are slowly star ng to re-open their doors. Working together in close consulta on with sector players and industry associa ons, Messe Frankfurt India has announced new dates for Screen Print India – India's leading trade fair for screen, tex le, sublima on and digital prin ng technologies. Originally scheduled in March, the exhibi on will now mark its Delhi launch in December 2020 together with Gartex Texprocess India and aims to provide sector players with a secure business environment allowing them to reconnect, explore new market demands and re-build their supply chains. According to industry experts, the label and package prin ng industry will witness a strong growth in the coming months as there will a surge in disposable and flexible packaging, which are now being considered more hygienic due to limited handling. The rise in food delivery and takeaway services is expected to further drive demand for disposable and flexible
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packaging. In con nua on with its efforts to serve the industry with valuable insights from sector experts during the lockdown period, Messe Frankfurt India organised a series of webinars. During one of the webinars focused on “Embracing change in current business models to stay relevant”, Mr Dharminder Biharie, CEO, BizzModell emphasised that: “in the post lockdown era, the screen and digital prin ng industry will see a comfortable growth as there will be an increase in demand for food packaging and labelling manufacturers, especially in metro ci es like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and others.” Screen Print India 2020 will make its debut in New Delhi alongside Gartex Texprocess India 2020, thus bringing latest advancements and machinery in sectors like tex le prin ng, screen prin ng, digital and sublima on under one roof. Leading manufacturing brands will conduct live demos of their latest technological offerings to poten al business visitors and traders during the three-day event. In the present situa on, the exhibi on will play a
cri cal role in bringing together key industry players for knowledge-exchange sessions on topics related to the graphics industry, and aims to provide exhibitors and visitors with the latest trends. Con nuing the list of highlights, Screen Print India 2020 will host Screen Print Excellence Awards to honour pathbreakers and technology inventors within the screen prin ng industry. The awards will also feature a special “SPI Sample Gallery” showcasing award winning pieces of screen prin ng excellence. With a heritage da ng back to 1994, Screen Print India has undoubtedly been the most trusted and resourceful business pla orm for exhibitors to showcase their innova ve and state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and products. The agenda for this year's event would be significant in terms of facilita ng market reconnec on, promo ng in-person networking as well as restoring business con nuity to ensure this sector's growth in the economy.
July 2020
News Buzz
Exhibi ons India Group Announces Dates For 28th Convergence India & 6th Smart Ci es India Expos exhibitors and industry partners; EIG is further strengthened in its resolve to work harder to serve its cons tuents and business community. The group remains confident that the decision will help make the 2021 expos a grand success.
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xhibi ons India Group (EIG) announced the rescheduling of its two leading expos –28th Convergence India expo & 6th Smart Ci es India expo to 24-26 March 2021. Upheld by the con nued support of all patrons,
Prevailing condi ons render it difficult to predict when interna onal flights to India will resume, or when a governmental direc ve allowing large gatherings will be issued. As global landscapes con nue to rapidly change owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision has been made with a view to remove the constant uncertain es. The 28th Convergence India
& 6th Smart Ci es India expos, which were earlier stated to be held on 20-22 October 2020, have now been scheduled for 24 to 26 March 2021 at Praga Maidan, New Delhi. Convergence India expo is an interna onal pla orm for overseas and Indian exhibitors to showcase cu ngedge innova ons and latest digital technologies on Broadcast & digital media; wire/wireless technologies (broadband, 4G, 5G); IoT; Cloud & Big Data; AR/VR; M2M; ar ficial intelligence; robo cs; drones, and much more.
Unlock 2: U ar Pradesh Govt Allows Big Events, Gatherings In State With Social Distance Guidelines
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art of the Central government's Unlock 2.0, the U ar Pradesh government has allowed big events and large gatherings to happen in the state with adhering to the safety protocol issued the Home Ministry. Talking in details, Chief Minister Yogi
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Adityanath said big events can be held with regard to COVID-19 and the Van Mahotsav in the state. “PreCOVID, during COVID and post-COVID are three categories, which the world will be able to clearly see. These will say what was the situa on of the world before the COVID-19 outbreak, what was the condi on during the outbreak and what will be the changes in the world a er COVID,” Yogi Adityanath was quoted as saying by PTI at the commencement of the Van Mahotsav. He said the state government has set a target of plan ng 25 crore saplings during the Van Mahotsav in the state. Saying that
July 2020
all need to fight the global pandemic together, Adityanath said during this planta on programme, adherence to social distancing can be clearly seen. “This is a good effort and all of us can organise big events while adhering to social distancing. This event is a witness to this. By following the treatment and preven on protocol during this global pandemic, we can be a part of the Van Mahotsav,” he added. The development comes as the state has witnessed 24 deaths in the past 24 hours. U ar Pradesh has so far witnessed 773 coronavirus deaths. In another development, 2 senior ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government have tested posi ve for the novel coronavirus in the past few hours.
Interview
Exhibi on Showcase Talks To Rajesh Agrawal, IAS, Execu ve Director, ITPO and Chairman, India MICE Alliance
Rajesh Agrawal is an ofcer of the prestigious Indian Administrative Service. He has been an administrator for the last more than 25 years with proven track record as a leader, practitioner and policy maker in complex elds like skill, human resource development, power, fertilizer, agriculture sectors. He has institutionalised and steered reforms both at central government level and in the state of Manipur, Jharkhand, Bihar across power, fertilizer, agriculture and MSME sectors. Agrawal has been instrumental in shaping up policy guidelines for skill development initiatives in the country and has been a focal point for overseeing implementation of the same. He represented India as the ofcial delegate on the World Skills Governing Council for three years. With his vast and varied experience he is now supporting the implementation of Pragati Maidan re-development project into a world class International Exhibition-cumConvention Centre (IECC).
Interview
ES. To start with, please share with us your comments on this pandemic. How do you feel our industry has been affected? Rajesh. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world on an unprecedented scale and in unimaginable ways. It has impacted all walks of life with lockdown of ci es, quaran ne measures spread across the globe, restric ons in movement and business ac vi es. The industry pertaining to MICE/ Trade fairs and business events was amongst the first ones to be affected. The situa on developed at fast pace and within three months the en re exhibi on industry came to a grinding halt. The mass cancella on or postponement of events due to COVID-19 started with Asia Pacific extending to Europe and the other parts of the world. These cancella ons or postponement are impac ng all stakeholders including the exhibi ng companies, service provider, venue providers, transport & travel industry and hospitality sector. The exhibi on industry plays an important role in growth of the MSME sector by helping them in their quest for new markets. The lack of exhibi ons compounded with falling demand worldwide is pu ng many MSME units on immediate risk of bankruptcy and closure. This is applicable for both the exhibi on players (e.g. service providers like stand constructers, logis cs, catering, etc.) and the customers (exhibitors and visitors of trade fairs) in this industry. Though the pandemic has impacted all sectors of the economy to some extent, there is no reason to lose hope. Every Challenge brings with it a lot of opportuni es too.We need to together look at all possibili es and innova ons which can help us meet the end objec ves of reducing informa on asymmetry, trade promo on and growth of MSME sector, even with all precau ons that may be necessary in present scenario. 21 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Innova on and Adapta on are going to be the key words going forward. India with its huge market is sure to rebound soon especially with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The Indian Exhibi on industry also needs to ready itself to play its due role in resurgence of our economy. ES. What do you see the roadmap ahead for MICE sector? What can be the op mis c target for restart of exhibi ons in India? Rajesh. The corona virus pandemic is the most challenging crisis the world has faced since the Second World War. Though this has impacted all sectors of economy, the hardest hit industry is avia on, hospitality, exhibi on and tourism which to a large extent are interdependent on each other. The prognosis for revival is quite uncertain as of now, considering we have no knowledge of when the total restric ons on travel will be li ed worldwide. The impending worldwide economic recession is also a real threat, since it's unlikely that majority will have the disposable income to travel even a er the crisis, besides the fear of infec on will persist for at least some me. Having said this, it is also a fact that industry all over the world is striving to restart opera ons even on a small scale as feasible in current scenario. There have been few trade shows like MBC Architecture Show, May 10-13 in South Korea and Hunan Auto show held April 20 to May 5, 2020 which took place despite Covid 19. These beginnings provide encouragement for industry worldwide to remain op mis c. In India too, despite all odds we should work towards a date to restart MICE industry keeping in view various projec ons of COVID 19 curve. As of now it seems that we can expect few exhibi ons taking place July 2020
Interview in the third quarter of this FY. The India Mice Alliance and industry experts have formulated a SOP for re-opening of MICE industry in prevailing Covid 19 situa on with all feasible safeguards for an organized gathering and have recommended the same to the Government for its considera on. We also need to think of small exhibi ons on a regional format which is a need for the country keeping in view its size and diversity. ES. What do you suggest to entrepreneurs who are facing stress in these mes? Rajesh. As men oned earlier, I think there is no reason to let despondency set in. The entrepreneurs in the sector need to use this me to introspect and re-strategize their businesses to meet the challenges of the post Covid world. The social distancing norms and improved hygiene e que es are there to stay and the industry need to plan exhibi ons keeping these in view. The industry need to pro-ac vely integrate more technology tools also as part of physical exhibi ons to enable be er outreach and a seamless experience for both the exhibitors and business visitors. The interna onal mobility will also take me to reach back to pre-Covid levels and the industry need to be ready to cater to this new challenge through appropriate technology. At a personal level, I think this is also me to invest towards reworking personal lives with focus on building healthy habits, be er immunity and a more happy family. The world has faced many challenges in past too, some of which were higher in magnitude and impact as compared to present pandemic. The world together has been able to overcome all the challenges in the past and there is no reason why we will not find a solu on to Covid 19 also, sooner than later. ES. How will the role of exhibi on venue owners evolve post COVID era? How is ITPO preparing for the same? Rajesh. The Venues across the world will need to align with the requirements of a post Covid world wherein the stalls sizes are expected to go up, the ra o of common areas is likely to increase and entry/exit to the fairs will need to be more seamless. The SOP prepared by the industry and submi ed to government through ITPO; allude to the new responsibili es of the Venue owners in great detail. All Venue owners will need to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the requirements of the SOP. Further, the Venues may need to ra onalise tariffs for next few years to support the exhibi on industry and bring back the exhibi ons to its earlier size and grandeur. The India Trade Promo on Organisa on (ITPO) is the apex government body for trade promo on through trade shows and exhibi ons. It will work with the industry to restart holding of exhibi ons at 22 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Quote Box "The world together has been able to overcome all the challenges in the past and there is no reason why we will not nd a solution to Covid 19 also, sooner than later." "ITPO has already gone ahead and announced signicant relief for the industry in tariffs for FY20-21." “ITPO also leads the India MICE Alliance Campaign initiated by Exhibition Showcase, which aims to bring together all the voices of MICE industry on one platform." the earliest possibility and align its pres gious venue to the requirements of the post Covid world. ITPO has already gone ahead and announced significant relief for the industry in tariffs for FY20-21. ES. As a nodal body for trade fairs in India, how have you served the industry during these disturbing mes? What have been the key ini a ves and measures? Rajesh. As stated earlier, despite facing financial constraints itself due to the cancella on or postponement of all events at Praga Maidan ll September 2020, ITPO has announced a substan al relief package for the exhibi on industry in April 2020 itself. The sole objec ve has been to keep the industry afloat in these difficult mes and restart the industry as soon as feasible along with all health safety norms in place. We also lead the India MICE Alliance Campaign ini ated by Exhibi on Showcase, which aims to bring together all segments of MICE industry on one pla orm to enable assess the impact of the pandemic on the en re industry and have a collec ve reflec on on opportuni es for future. A con nuous dialogue with all stakeholders of MICE sector has been taken up to ins l confidence, boost morale and work towards a joint strategy for re-opening in the post Covid world. ES. ITPO is heading the India MICE Alliance Campaign. Can you share the key achievements of IMA Campaign under your leadership? Rajesh. The central objec ve of this campaign is Survival & Revival of our industry. Through the advisory commi ee, efforts are being made to reach out to various stakeholders in MICE industry to present their perspec ves and sugges ons for early revival of the sector. This will on one hand enable the sector present its reasonable demands to the Government in a structured manner for the requisite support, and on the other hand enable develop a roadmap July 2020
Interview for the industry to follow for ge ng itself back on the track. It is also our combined endeavour to keep our fraternity mo vated and together prepare for the mes when our industry will open post COVID-19. ES. ITPO has submi ed SOP to the government on behalf of IMA. What are the developments on that front? Rajesh. A standardized SOPs for organizers, venue providers, exhibitors, buyers and service providers as per interna onal standards has been prepared and submi ed to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries with a copy to Home Ministry with the request to announce a future date for opening of exhibi on industry. I am sure the Government will evaluate the proposal and will make announcements at an appropriate me. The Covid curve in India is s ll on upswing and we expect a decision as soon as it has passed its peak. ES. As we see that many countries are allowing exhibi ons to open. Can we see an opening date for exhibi ons in India? Rajesh. It is difficult to predict an exact date considering the COVID situa on. As stated earlier, once we as a country have crossed the peak of Covid curve, we can expect announcement on a future date. The countries where exhibi ons have been held or dates have been announced; there too these decisions were taken a er Covid had crossed its peak. At ITPO, we are op mis c to hold at least few exhibi ons in last quarter of this calendar year.
ES. What is your take on Virtual events? Rajesh. Technology will definitely play a vital role post COVID, but it is unlikely that virtual events will completely replace physical events. The physical interface in the exhibi ons is not a necessity of modern day exhibi ons but the key strength as it allows people to meet each other, build friendships and trust, and see new products and innova ons with naked eyes. I personally feel that emo ons are key to human decisions and those can be strongly harnessed only in a physical interface as compared to a digital interface. However, I definitely see increasing use of technology in exhibi ons for be er customer experience and also enable a bigger outreach. ES. What have been the findings so far from your leadership at the IMA campaign? What is the mindset of the industry? Rajesh. It has been very encouraging experience. The people are very posi ve and proac ve in the discussions. They have always put their views candidly. A number of webinars have been organised and people are op mis c towards early revival of the industry. They are also looking at innova ons to help industry reach out to all its customer base in post covid world which s ll may have few restric ons at least in mind. The Industry consulta ons have been definitely helpful and will also help in early revival of MICE sector including the Exhibi on Industry. The Exhibi on Showcase media house has also played a very construc ve role for the industry during these mes.
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ES. You have stated at several forums that exhibi ons are not mass gatherings. Can you elaborate on this differen a on and how can they be organised safely. Rajesh. An event counts as a “mass gathering”, if the number of people it brings together is so large that it has the poten al to strain the planning and response resources of the health system in the community where it takes place. You need to consider the loca on and dura on of the event as well as the number of par cipants. For example, if the event takes place over several days in a small island state where the capacity of the health system is quite limited then even an event with just a few thousand par cipants could place a big strain on the health system and then be considered a “mass gathering” event. Thus, lower profile conferences and events can also fall under WHO's defini on of a mass gathering depending upon the size, loca on and dura on.
it over addi onal days or reducing the number of exhibitors. While planning these events provision for adequate space which promotes social distancing and include orienta on of visitors before they actually a end the exhibi on as an exhibitor or a business visitor or a service provider. The SOP submi ed to government for considera on cover these aspects and we believe that as an industry we can conduct ourselves responsibly to ensure that exhibi ons are held with all necessary precau ons and procedures in place, as and when permi ed by the government.
India Convention Promotion Bureau
India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) (A Government of India Enterprise) Department of Commerce
Sponsored by Minister of Tourism, Government of India
India's leading Media for MICE
GLOBAL MICEALLIANCE ALLIANCE INDIA MICE
We believe that B2B exhibi ons should be kept out of the above defini on of mass gatherings, as they are held with iden fied exhibitors and registered business visitors along with the requisite onsite health and safety arrangements. Further, these events can be aligned with the limita ons of the venue by spreading 23 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
A Unifying Campaign For The Survival & Revival Of Indian Exhibition & Convention Industry
July 2020
Interview ES. How is ITPO planning support to the industry going forward? What are the measures/policies for cancella ons, postponement, waivers etc. taken by ITPO that you can share with our readers? Rajesh. We have announced a relief package for exhibi on industry in view of COVID 19. All applicable penal es during Financial year 20-21 on cancella on of events, on reschedule of events and on reduc on in the size of the events have been waived off with facility for mul ple rescheduling during the year. The rentals have been reduced across the board by 20% for FY20-21 on all events either scheduled or proposed to be held. The payment terms have also been relaxed for FY21 with objec ve of more liquidity in the hands of organisers. ITPO has also provided relief packages to the service providers especially the CHAs with 50% reduc on in their empanelment fees. You can visit our website for further details. The above reliefs/ relaxa ons will ins ll confidence in the fair organizers and will help support the exhibi on industry in these difficult mes. ES. Can you share the vision of ITPO for the Praga Maidan? What is the status of the re-development project? Rajesh. ITPO is implemen ng its ambi ous plan for re-
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development of its landmark fairground Praga Maidan, involving a modern state-of-the-art Interna onal Exhibi on-cum-Conven on-Centre (IECC), bringing it at par with the best Exhibi on and Conven on centres across the world. Though there have been delays in the project especially due to unscheduled stoppage of construc on either due to pollu on concerns or impact of Covid 19, We expect to complete the project during 2021. Once the project is completed, the Praga Maidan is surely going to be one of the best exhibi on cum conven on venues in the world. This will definitely give a boost to the Indian exhibi on and conven on industry, and we expect many new interna onal exhibi ons and conven ons to take place here once the project is completed and new facili es made opera onal. ES. What is your message to the industry? Rajesh. Personally I am an op mis c person. As stated earlier, my appeal to all stakeholders of the industry would be to remain op mis c and work together for the resurgence of MICE industry with a special focus on Exhibi on sector. ITPO will always be there with the industry in all its posi ve endeavours.
July 2020
India Convention Promotion Bureau
India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) (A Government of India Enterprise) Department of Commerce
therWeC e g o an T Conferences # Exhibitions Events
Sponsored by Minister of Tourism, Government of India
Meetings
India's leading Media for MICE
INDIA MICE ALLIANCE
A Unifying Campaign For The Revival Of Indian Exhibition & Convention Industry
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR RE-OPENING OF TRADE EXHIBITIONS IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19
Please email to raghav@exhibitionshowcase.com if you wish to receive a copy of this framework
SOP
Dra Standard Opera ng Procedure/ Preven ve measures to be taken while holding of Trade Exhibi ons in the wake of the Covid-19 The exhibition industry enables business opportunities across all industries by directly connecting the buyers with the sellers. These business events are the life-line for MSMEs as they offer best return on investments. Exhibitions are important to enable an ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and our nation’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives. Exhibitions are categorised as focused business activity that brings together the stakeholders on a unied platform as organised gatherings in a controlled environment, which are different to the normal mass gatherings. They can be held safely in compliance with strict protocols At present, the world is facing an unprecedented situation which has made it difcult for the exhibition industry to function, thereby badly affecting businesses and livelihoods. Therefore, ITPO along with the Indian exhibition industry is ready to become a responsible partner to the government for promoting domestic and international trade.
Safety Guidelines This document provides a framework for organizing such business events (Exhibitions) under due safety guidelines in the wake of Covid-19. The objective of these guidelines is to conduct exhibitions in a controlled and conducive environment to ensure the safety and good health of all concerned participants. These guidelines are in line with the objective to make sure that the Exhibitions remain the preferred business medium to conduct business transactions. The measures to be put in place are divided under the following categories viz: Fair Organizers
Service Providers
Venue Providers
Exhibi ons Ecosystem
Exhibitors
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Business Visitors / Delegates
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SOP
I. Measures to be adopted by Venue Provider(s) ii. Measures to be adhered to by Fair Organisers iii. Measures to be adhered to by Service Providers iv. Measures to be followed by Exhibitors v. Measures to be followed by Business Visitors / Delegates
Generic Preventive Measures I. Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years are advised to stay at home, except for essential and health purposes. Trade Fair Organizers have to advise accordingly. ii. The other generic measures include simple public health measures that are to be followed to reduce the risk of COVID-19. These measures need to be observed by all (staff and guests) in these places at all times. These include: Ÿ Physical distancing of at least 6 feet to be followed as far as feasible. Ÿ
Use of face covers/masks to be mandatory.
Ÿ
Practice frequent hand washing with soap (for at least 40-60 seconds) even when hands are not visibly dirty. Use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers (for at least 20 seconds) can be made wherever feasible.
Ÿ
Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed. This involves strict practice of covering one's mouth and nose while coughing/sneezing with a tissue/handkerchief/exed elbow and disposing off used tissues properly.
Ÿ
Self-monitoring of health by all and reporting any illness at the earliest to state and district helpline.
Ÿ
Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.
Ÿ
Installation and use of 'Aarogya Setu' app shall be mandatory for all with smart-phones.
A. Measures to be adopted by Venue Provider(s) I. The self-assessment through Aarogya Setu Mobile App is recommended for all the entrants and is mandatory for ones with a smart-phone. All the entrants should be instructed not to have a close contact with anyone if they are experiencing any of the symptoms in respect of the virus. ii. Venue Provider should setup health/rst-aid kiosks manned by optimal staff with adequate equipment like thermal guns and hand sanitizers at all entry/ exit gates of the venue for mandatory thermal scanning and hand sanitization of all the entrants. All Security and cleaning staff should use Face Mask, Face Shield and Gloves. iii. The Exhibition halls need to be disinfected before giving possession. A well-planned garbage disposal policy needs to be implemented. The air handling unit requires to be cleaned and maintained regularly to maintain adequate in-hall temperature/ air movement as recommended by health authorities
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SOP
iv. Adequate number of CCTV should be installed in the venue/ campus, including inside the halls and the F&B locations, to closely monitor visitor movement to ensure social distancing and control overcrowding at any point. Also, there should be adequate AV unit for announcement to manage the crowd movement. v. A dedicated lane for vehicles movement with single entry and single exit of the vehicles needs to be created. The round robin arrangements should also follow this dedicated lane. The drop-off points and parking points should be identiď€ ed. The spaces for parking of vehicles should be clearly deď€ ned so as to maintain social distancing in the parking areas. vi. The F&B service providers to be advised that proper hygiene be maintained and the infrastructure be disinfected regularly. They may be advised to offer pre-packed food to the extent possible and to avoid a buffet-style set-up to avoid queue-ups. Digital payments must be encouraged. The F&B outlets / counters shall mandatorily install glass partitions as a physical distancing measure. The serving personnel should wear masks and gloves. The F&B services providers will be required to follow the guidelines issued by the relevant government agencies. The visitors to be encouraged to bring their own water bottles. There should be a provision of tissue papers near water dispensers, Tea/Coffee makers etc. to avoid direct contact with hand. vii. To maintain social distancing the number of individuals that can be permitted in any given hall, stall/ booth and toilet/ washroom at any particular time at any particular time may be moderated such that the latest MHA/ MoHFW guidelines on social distancing are complied-with, which currently translates into a 3.25 sq. m per person in the halls. (10,000 sq. m hall should have a maximum of 3076 persons; a 5,000 sq. m hall should have a maximum of 1538 persons) at any given point in time. viii. Isolation centre should be created by the venue owner on a permanent basis.
B. Measures to be adhered to by Trade Fair Organisers I. The Trade Fair Organisers should assess the risk involved by doing a thorough pre-event review of the event prior to the planned dates. The organizer should also analyse the health and safety situation of the zones of the expected attendees, both national and International. ii. Based on health and safety analysis of visitor origin cities, the Organisers should avoid promoting their events to visitors from affected areas whose visit to the event may possibly impact the health and safety of other visitors at the show. iii. The organizer should ensure that the number of entries into the Venue, in respect of their event, is regulated as per the Govt. guidelines during that particular time. iv. The organizer should maintain record of all the entrants & participants who will enter the venue in respect of their event. They should be able to provide traceability support of suspects to local health authorities, if required. In line with the govt. guidelines, the entrants screened-out based on travel history/symptoms/ information based on the medical interview sheet may be refused entry. Availability of information of any overseas COVID-19 cases who were detected during or after the event should be passed on to their respective embassies
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v. The Organisers must ensure that they, along-with the exhibitors, visitors, staff/labour belonging to all Stand Contractors, Food and Beverages (F&B), Security, Housekeeping etc. hired by the organizer and any other staff deployed by them, in connection with the exhibition/conference, are aware of and are following all the precautionary measures advised by the Govt. Authorities, in respect of Covid-19 virus, from time to time. vi. The organizer should regularly play recorded messages/announcements on the precautionary measures, good practices and relevant information in respect of the virus during the full tenancy period. They should promote ‘Namaste’ greetings as a replacement to handshakes. It should highlight availability of onsite doctors and ambulance. Signage/ boards, to be installed at all prominent places, about preventive measures to be followed by entrants and also that spitting inside the premises will be prohibited vii. The organizer should advise all the entrants to practice hand washing etiquettes (even if the hands are visibly clean) with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub/sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content. viii. The Organisers should encourage pre-registration of visitors to minimize queues at the registration area and seek health declarations from all attendees in a pre-exhibition entry safe zone. All attendees should be registered in order to ensure traceability, if needed at a later date. Contactless entry should be encouraged. ix. The furniture and other surfaces (frequently touched or otherwise) present in each of the halls and going to be used in respect of their event need to be wiped with disinfectant regularly by the organizer & the exhibitors. Exhibitors will be responsible for disinfecting their booths x. The Organisers may encourage online registration with the option of printing of entry badges at home xi. The organisers should consider minimal social contact while setting up their Registration area. Queue masters could be used to manage movement ow. Registration counters set up by the organizer could have transparent glass or plexiglass partitions to act as a barrier to physical contact. xii. The Organisers should encourage use of technology to minimize human interface. The organiser may ask its exhibitors to encourage the use of e-brochures to minimize contact and paper wastage. xiii. The Organisers should be advised to monitor the number of visitors in a particular hall by technologyenabled/other means by tracking the inow as well as outow of visitors in real-time. As soon as the hall reaches saturation as per the hall-wise occupancy load notied by Government agencies, inow may be restricted. Number of people in the elevators shall be restricted, duly maintaining social distancing norms xiv. During the event, the Organizer should ensure that there are sufcient hand sanitizers/soap/tissues in all the washrooms. Their housekeeping agency should be strictly instructed to regularly monitor the hygiene of all the halls including the washrooms. All the tissues should be in closed bins. The housekeeping agency should ensure that the used tissues are thrown into closed bins immediately after use xv. If organisers are providing transport shuttles, they should be cleaned regularly. Avoid transportation to/fro from any red zones, if identied by the Government.
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xvi. The organizer should encourage use of pre-fabricated material while constructing stands to ensure minimum time spent by the stand fabricators, tters etc. The organizer should also instruct the Stand Contractors to disinfect the booth construction material etc. Stand Contractors should use mechanised trolleys / pallets etc. to minimise human labour while bringing / taking out material out of the halls xvii. The organisers will construct minimum of one Isolation Room of minimum 3m x 3m (four sides & ceiling covered, with lockable door), which would be manned by the Fair Organiser with the help of Professional Healthcare staff adept in handling a COVID-19 patient and would have adequate facilities like PPE kit, face masks and sanitizers. The Fair Organiser would also ensure to identify and safely transfer the identied suspected COVID-19 patient to the isolation room till arrival of medical team or transferring to a COVID Hospital. xviii. The Fair organizer should ensure that the paramedic ambulances that are inside the venue for their event are manned by full-time doctor/healthcare staff/nurses with adequate kits for Covid-19 virus. xix. Set up and chair Core COVID-19 response team with involvement of senior ofcials of all service partners and venue. Identify and convey emergency contact numbers to all the stakeholders on repeat basis till the exhibition dates. xx. Fair organisers should stagger the operational hours of exhibition so that there is organised gathering. The Fair organisers may also be requested to plan for staggered exit of exhibitors and visitors at the closing time of the show on each day. xxi. Fair organisers should indicate Markings for Social Distancing at various places like, queues at entry and exit of halls, in front of registration desks, in front of booths/stalls in the passageways, places where gathering is required such as a stage show or event, etc.
C. Measures to be adhered to by Service Providers i. Self Declaration forms shall be sent to all Stand Contractors and all other Service Providers ii. Service providers shall park their vehicles at designated places till they get clearance from Venue Owner to enter. Vehicles shall be parked by maintaining social distancing. iii. All service providers shall wear facemasks before approaching the exhibition venue and undergo thermal scanning at entrance of the venues. iv. While setting-up the Exhibition: Ÿ Arrange maximum pre fabrication of the conrmed stand design at own premises. Ÿ Ensure necessary social distancing among workers, supervisory staff etc.
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v. While Transporting the prefabricated materials to exhibition venue: Sanitise the delivery vehicle and all materials before loading. Driver and other personnel involved in transportation of material must ensure social distancing and wear all necessary Face Masks. Ÿ Ensure contactless transportation of materials to the exhibition venue. Complete stand build up maintaining social distancing at the site
Ÿ Ÿ
vi. While Dismantling: Sanitise the stall along with furniture, xtures etc. before dismantling the stall. Dismantle and deliver all material back to the warehouse using sanitised vehicle and mandatory use of face masks by the driver and other personnel. Ÿ Avoid any unnecessary stopover during transit. Ÿ Ÿ
vii. Self Declaration forms shall be sent to all Logistic Providers
viii. Sanitise the logistics and warehouse facilities along with all equipment before use by the workers.
ix. During Pickup and Transportation: Ÿ Ÿ
Exhibitor goods shall be sanitized before packaging Pick up and ensure contactless transportation of the exhibitor goods to the exhibition venue.
x. During Re-transportation: Ÿ Ÿ
Sanitise the exhibitor goods before pick up from the venue. Re-transport to the port of origin.
D. Measures to be followed by Exhibitors i. Aarogya Setu Mobile App is recommended for all the persons manning the stall and is mandatory for the ones with a smart-phone. ii. All the stalls should have hand sanitizers. They should ensure that a sufcient gap (of two yards) is maintained at all time between the people manning the stall. All the personnel at the stall should use Face Mask, till COVID-19 remains a health hazard. iii. Every stall should have a covered dustbin. iv. To maintain social distancing the number of individuals that can be permitted in any given stall / booth at any particular time may be moderated such that the latest MHA / MoHFW guidelines on social distancing are complied-with. v. Exhibitors should encourage Digital Payment Options at Food & Beverage (F&B) outlets.
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SOP
E. Measures to be followed by Business Visitors / Delegates i. Aarogya Setu Mobile App is recommended for all the visitors and mandatory for the ones with a smartphone
ii. The visitors should not enter the venue ground if their temperature is not normal.
iii. They should wear face mask at all the time.
iv. The visitors must ensure that they maintain a sufď€ cient distance (of about two yards) from other persons at all the time.
v. In case a person falls sick, he must report to the First Aid desk.
vi. They should pre-register themselves.
vii. They should adhere to all the guidelines prescribed by the Trade Fair organizer
Additional SOPs for holding Conferences during Exhibitions i. Identify closed door conference areas for any conference sessions planned during the exhibition with seating and avoid any standing attendees.
ii. Speaker / panellist chairs to be placed ensuring safe distancing.
iii. Ensure social distancing for attendees and sanitization of conference area after regular intervals.
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Incoming Check Protocol, as described below, has to be strictly adhered to:
Undergo Thermal checks at Entry
Found Ok
Not found Ok
Proceed for Hand Sani za on
Go to Paramedic Check
Go to Registra on counter and get pass
Allow Organizer/Visitor/ Service provider to concern area
Found Ok
Not found Ok
Go to Isola on Area for further ac on
Inform concerned Organizer about isolated person for further process
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Interview ES. What was the scenario and ecosystem of our industry when you started your journey? Simha. The scenario was as exci ng as today and more challenging due to non-availability of desired skills and exper se, learning from trial and error and innova ng every me. There was no ecosystem except for few tent houses. The Ecosystem grew rapidly from 2000 onwards when events & shows started becoming larger and more professional and global giants started venturing in India.
Exhibi on Showcase Talks To Simha Shastry, CEO, Prime Events & Conferences We started our journey as a Voice and Internet Solu ons company for the events & exhibi on industry as the par cipants badly needed voice and data connec vity. Every event used to be challenging as circuits had to be obtained by DoT/BSNL and had to help them to catch up to our speed. Major milestone in 1996 was se ng up of the Interna onal Media Centre and 18 Venue Media Centres with dynamic scores available for the Media at the Man Media Centre in Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore for the Fourth Na onal Games, The Opening and Closing Events and Venue Management. The same year we had Miss World 96 where we set up and managed the Interna onal Media Centre at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Strategizing, Planning, Designing and Execu ng Benefit Cricket Ticketed Matches for State, Indian and Interna onal Cricketers. 34 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
ES. Who was your inspira on? Simha. My inspira on has always been JRD Tata, with whom I share my birthday and Jack Welsh, the Company I worked for, Interna onal General Electric Medical Diagnos c Division. Jack Welsh's mantra of Speed, Simplicity and Confidence is ever inspiring and a barometer. Always look for Simple Solu ons, Execute with Speed and with Confidence. ES. What were the biggest challenges that you faced? Simha. The biggest challenges were Inventory, Skilled Manpower and Engineering. Constantly Innova ng, Reinven ng and Upskilling our Vendors, partners and throwing up new challenges was the way to overcome these challenges. ES. Please share with us your most exci ng project ll date Simha. The most challenging assignment was AeroIndia 2009 where we installed 160+ IPCameras Fixed and PTZ over 25 sq kms and bring the en re camera signals flawlessly to one Central Control Room and live Video Produc on with 8 cameras with about 12 kms of fibre laid for the event exclusively apart from Audio and Video Solu on and distribu on of the live content on 8 large screens across the venue. I also fondly recall our first major project which was Miss World 96 with Amitabh Bachchan Corpora on Limited where we setup the Interna onal Media Centre and AT&T free calls network for the Contestants to their homes, calls sponsored by AT&T 000113 everyday. We also setup the data link for the online studio setup by the South African Agency for uplinking LIVE around the World, a challenging experience and flawless integra on. Thanks to our Department of Telecom for all their support at that me. ES. Similarly, please share your most difficult project ll date which you executed successfully? Simha. In terms of difficulty is se ng up the perimeter displays for both Kolkata and Mumbai Marathons which included se ng up the Venue Studio for Content
July 2020
Interview around the World. The physical a endance to any Events or Exhibi on will see a dras c reduc on, however the surge from online will definitely add more business opportuni es for the Organisers and Exhibitors. Hybrid Events & Exhibi ons will be the order for future. The Exhibi on industry will bounce back to normalcy in about 3 years, however apprehensions shall prevail. The Industry will be more responsible by using Eco friendly materials and reducing the Carbon footprint of an Event and Exhibi on and integrated waste management. Upcycling will be the new order for stall fabricators thus recycling and cost reduc on. ES. What kind of losses (financial and opportuni es) have your organisa on incurred during these mes? Simha. In terms of the lost opportuni es and cancelled/ postponed Events, Exhibi ons and other events is to a tune of One million USD at least.
Crea on, Edi ng, Anima on and Delivery as there we had only 4 hours to setup about 2500 s of LEDs and link them through OFC and deliver flawless experience. Thanks to our Teams, we pulled it off successfully. Since then, we have been doing that every year and the thanks for confidence reposed in us by our clients and sponsors. ES. What have been your biggest learnings in this business? Simha. Find Solu on To Every Problem ES. What message you will like to give to the youth? Simha. Knowledge is the key, Keep learning and be dedicated and loyal to your work. Integrity is the Key for Success. ES. Please share with us your take on this situa on our industry is facing today? Simha. The Pandemic has been a major disrupter of the whole Industry around the World. As our Industry is all about Gatherings, things will definitely not be the same and will take over 2 to 3 years to start ge ng back to normal. ES. What do you see the roadmap ahead for exhibi on industry? Simha. The Exhibi on Industry is in the process of reinven ng using virtual technologies and Innova ons 35 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
ES. What can be the recovery guide for exhibi ons 1. Restructuring costs and cash flows 2. Being responsible for conduc ng green events & exhibi ons 3. Reducing wastage and Carbon footprint. 4. Major thrust on Cleaner & Sani zed spaces 5. Upcycling & recycling 6. Establishing integrated audit, feedback and control mechanisms ES. What is your take on Virtual exhibi ons Simha. Virtual Exhibi ons are here to stay and will be definitely spearheading the engagement experience of the audience using VR,AR, AI and Robo cs. Intelligent facial recogni on technologies using deep learning algorithms will transform the exhibitor/a endee rela onship matrix. ES. What do you feel can be the pros and cons of virtual exhibi on Simha. Emo onal connect is a major point that shall be missing, that will get compensated by technological advancements in engagement. Companies shall be having their own periodical launches, engagements and using AI enables Digital Marke ng & Outreach. ES. What do you suggest to industry peers who are facing stress in these mes Simha. These are definitely difficult mes for many industries, entrepreneurs should keep their head above the water by cu ng costs, disposing unwanted items, focus on GIG incomes, stay healthy and fit, above all have faith in the Almighty. July 2020
Interview
In Conversa on With Stephan Murtagh, Managing Director The Exhibi on Guy Group – 7 Steps” – To be honest, I have so many more things I want to do. I have had the real pleasure of training in India and your region and would like to do more of this and help more people to get even be er results from Exhibi ons.
ES. Please share with us your professional journey. What have been the major milestones and most amazing achievements in your career? Stephan. Having been in Exhibi ons for 25+ years, I s ll have the same passion and enthusiasm for what we do as an industry…in fact probably even more so now as I con nue to see how powerful our industry is to small and big businesses globally. For me, my journey has always been to be a small part of a company's success when exhibi ng…Coaching and training businesses how to get even more from exhibi ons and the real power of face to face interac on. I have always been in exhibi on sales and training so the obvious thing to do for me was to combine these passions to help other people. Its why we brought The Exhibi on Guy to market, to help the industry become a be er place. I get to travel around the world talking about exhibi ons to amazing people so that in itself is just part of the amazing journey for me. I absolutely love what I do and am passionate about seeing other people succeed, because when they do that is success for me. Some of my big milestones include training over 2,500 companies on the “7 Steps to Exhibi on Success” and being shortlisted for the Exhibi on News Awards in 2019 and 2020, Launching the first online course for “How to Exhibit 36 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
ES. What do you see the roadmap ahead for exhibi on industry? Stephan. We have been through possibly the biggest challenge for businesses all over the globe in the past 6 months and whilst its been a massive challenge, we can either give up or look to the future. For me there is no choice. Its all about staying posi ve and looking to the opportuni es and not the downsides. As an industry CV19 has given us a wake-up call that we need to be be er and deliver more for our clients and our industry. As far as a roadmap is concerned, there are no simple answers as there is s ll so much uncertainty. However, we need to look to what can be done. The roadmap for me will involve us changing the way we sell exhibi ons and pu ng more emphasis and importance on the visitor and not the exhibitor. Improving the visitor experience and not selling events based on the number of people who walk through the door, but rather the value of the people who walk through the door. Its about working with our colleagues in digital to come up with solu ons that are not solely based on revenue, but rather delivering a be er event for all our clients. ES. What can be the recovery guide for exhibi ons Stephan. The Exhibi on industry is undoubtedly in a tough place but not just for organisers, Exhibitors are also feeling the pain of shows not being run and its me for some straight talking with our clients and ourselves about what will help bring exhibi ons back. Organisers need to focus more on their clients and helping them, educa ng them how to exhibit, assist them in marke ng their stands be er before shows and give them more tools to ensure that exhibitors succeed. For far too long some Organisers have just taken the exhibitors money and not really cared what happened a er that. This is not good enough and we need to collaborate with our exhibitors more and have a more shared goal approach so that everyone wins. When you are in hospital recovering a er an opera on, the doctors have a plan for you and explain to you how it should work if you do certain things, we need to adopt this more holis c approach to our clients so that they understand how recovery works and their part in that recovery. July 2020
Interview This is not a one-sided problem; we all need to work together to make this work as it`s in everyone`s interest. Se ng up steering groups or advisory groups between organisers, exhibitors and visitors would be a good start. Everyone is vested in the success, so everyone should be invested in the steps to make it happen. ES. What is your take on Virtual Exhibi ons? Stephan. To be truthful, I am not a huge fan of virtual, whilst the tech is great, it's just missing the cri cal face to face piece which is the real magic of what we do as an industry. People are so accustomed to Zoom and all the other pla orms but are also becoming bored of it because it offers lots but falls short on the whole point of Exhibi ons – F2F. That real connec on you make with someone when you meet them, the real understanding of another person when you are wit them. I am not saying Virtual doesn't work because it does and has many advantages, but it needs to be a part of the solu on because it`s certainly not THE solu on. I think we as an industry have been given a warning that we can't ignore virtual and shouldn't, but we need to work with virtual and not up against it.
industry become a be er place and some level of virtual or hybrid is realis cally the way forward right now. But these virtual/hybrid events must be focussed on value and not just revenue. I also think that our industry will move to different pricing models that are not based on Sq. Metres. I think more visitor exhibitor matchmaking will become more relevant and more important in the future. I see Organisers working closer with exhibitors and not just offering value for the 3 days of the show but delivering value across the whole year via live plus digital. These are good things and will help us build back up our credibility as the industry that cares about their clients and delivers value. ES. What is the silver lining of this pandemic? Stephan. The silver lining is that we have been forced into a corner to adapt our businesses so that we deliver be er value for our clients, this is a good thing and may cost us more ini ally but will be worth it in the longer run. One silver lining for me is that I believe people and businesses will be more caring post CV19 and more understanding that nobody is immune to something like this. There is a real togetherness globally and think that will help all our businesses and lives in the longer term.
If I am honest, I think the virtual bubble is going to burst and not because it doesn't work, but rather because there are too many virtual pla orms coming out every week and are being run by people who quite simply do not understand our industry. They are great at tech but are purely “jumping on the bandwagon” on a revenue grab and not really looking at the longer-term sustainability of it or how it will actually help our industry. ES. What will be the fate of large exhibi on venues who have invested billions into their infrastructure? Stephan. It is realis cally going to be some me before we see large venues full and smaller more niche shows are going to become more prevalent. Yes I would hope over me that the small shows become big ones but this is going to be a challenge in the short term because as an industry it is ge ng harder to get the big companies to spend big in exhibi on terms and the limita ons of air travel for corporate execu ves is also going to limit things. I think for the bigger venues, they will have to become more pa ent and wait for big shows to come back. I don't think you can force through a solu on on something like this. Maybe the bigger venues will need to diversify and look at other things they can use their venues for in the shorter term. As their venues have fixed costs, any revenue is be er than no revenue. ES. What do you see as the upcoming emerging trends going forward? Stephan. As much as I do have some nega ves towards Virtual, I am also a realist and my first objec ve is to see the
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July 2020
Interview ES. What do you suggest to entrepreneurs who are facing stress in these mes. Please share with us your personal assessment of the situa on? Stephan. CV19 has been incredibly stressful for peoples lives and businesses all over the world. However, panicking about it and hiding away from problems is not the solu on either as it just pushes the problem away to another me. We need to be resilient and be honest with ourselves, look at what was not working before the pandemic and how we can change our approach to be more successful. As hard as it is, having a cool calm head is what sees people through stress. Taking me off, more me with family, walks, listening to music, taking up a new hobby or simply talking to other people. Everyone in the world has been affected by this in some way. An old expression which I really like is “You can`t really enjoy the good mes, un l you have experienced the tough ones” – We certainly have had some tough ones. Its me for us to start enjoying what we have not what we don't! ES. How badly has your region been affected? What has been the impact of this pandemic on your domes c industry? Stephan. Like every other country we have had our industry decimated here and don't realis cally expect to see much ac vity here un l at least q4 this year although more realis cally 2021. To be honest, just accep ng that makes it easier to deal with and this does give us the opportunity to come back even be er when it's all “over”.
ES. Your 3 takes on how to cope these mes? Stephan. 1. Make a realis c plan of what you can achieve in next 3 months 2. Help your clients with things and expect nothing in return 3. Use this me to be a be er person and a be er business ES. What will be the future of business tourism? Europe is opening. How do you see tourism gradually opening and what are your sugges ons in this regard? Stephan. This is hard to say but borders are beginning to open up across the globe and this in principle is good but as we also con nue to see spikes in some countries, this may be a vola le situa on and may be reversed. Business tourism is a key driver in the global economy and unfortunately some airlines will not survive with the restric ons and the lower occupancy load on their planes. I think we may see more domes c air travel ini ally with a longer term opening of the interna onal travel routes. ES. Your message to the industry? Stephan. My message to industry is that yes we have had and will con nue to have massive challenges in the Exhibi on industry but we also have clients who know, understand and want to go back to Live events because they know that this is where the real business is done and will become even more important in the future as business and life needs to go on and trade within economies help to make that happen. Ul mately for me it`s #Exhibi onsHuman2HumanNotComputer2Human
Change for the better
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July 2020
Interview
In Conversa on With Berislav Čižmek, CEO CBBS - Management Consul ng & Business Building Company ES. Please share with us your take on this situa on Berislav Čižmek. Event industry across the globe has been challenged by COVID 19 crisis however the industry professionals are very op mis c and confident about the situa on for the recovery of the industry a er the crisis. Most of the event organizers are planning to start with B2B events a er the summer break, mostly in Q42020. Trade fairs/B2B conferences are recognized as very important marke ng pla orms for the fast recovery of economy, especially for SMEs across Europe. ES. What can be the recovery guide for the exhibi on industry? Berislav Čižmek. The event industry understands and know the key industry sectors covered by their events very well and will be able to provide needed content to support companies to recover a er COVID 19 crisis. The market is expec ng different digital and innova ve services to be in place for the future events. Event industry will also have to provide the highest safety/hygiene standards for the prepara on and organiza on of the interna onal events based on the success stories from first events organized a er COVID 19 crisis in China and South Korea. ES. What is your take on Virtual exhibi ons? Berislav Čižmek. In my opinion there we can expect to see both virtual and hybrid events happening in the period in front of us. However I would expect that future belongs to live events with hybrid extensions for the exis ng customers not able to visit the event or for the new customers interested to use hybrid version at first. I do believe that F2F events and communica on cannot be totally replaced with virtual events however the crisis has also shown power of digital
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July 2020
Interview
Berislav Čižmek, CEO of CBBS, joined UFI Industry Partners Committee
pla orms and innova ve online tools in crea ng and organizing mee ngs and discussions online. In the future our customers will expect to get besides live event interac ve digital pla orm, integra on of new media, Ai and innova ve mee ng/B2B matchmaking solu ons. S ll we can expect "new comers" to the event industry, especially the compe on of new start up companies that will use the present situa on and try to enter offering virtual events to the market events. ES. What are your comments for the purpose built exhibi on and conven on centres who have deep rooted investments in their assets? Berislav Čižmek. It is too soon to bring any decisions in this regard now especially since the problem with surplus of the capacity is exis ng in event industry world wide ll now as well. We had examples in the past, even before COVID 19 crisis, that some of the venues due to the lack of ac vity because of different reasons (less shows, economy crisis, moving of the guest events to other loca on, other problems in the market) had to find the new ac vi es taking place in their premises. They were forced to find new tenants for the part of the less occupied areas or completely reconstruct the free areas in exis ng venues and transform them in shopping malls/sport halls and sport facili es, logis c centres, cinema/entertainment centres or even totally demolish them to make the space free for some future developments. The first events organized a er start of COVID 19 in Asia have shown that the interest of exhibitors and visitors is s ll very high and that is too soon to expect bigger shrinking of the future events. ES. What do you see as the upcoming emerging trends in the industry ? Berislav Čižmek. The event industry in Europe and across 40 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
UFI President Corrado Peraboni and UFI members promote #GED at Verona conference
the globe has very strong market posi on and excellent rela ons with na onal governments, local and interna onal business community (chambers, associa ons, media) and will be able to adapt to the challenges caused by COVID 19 crisis. However most of the organizers are aware of the fact that "New Normal" for the event industry will put them under high pressure. It will mean fast development of the new digital services in exis ng F2F events and the fact they most probably will have to face new compe on coming from business associa ons, media companies or new start up companies that will recognize the opportunity to enter the event market with digital type of events (virtual and hybrid shows/conferences) and new innova ve services. ES. What is the silver lining of this pandemic Berislav Čižmek. COVID 19 pandemic put addi onal pressure to the event industry to accept digital and innova ve solu ons and to integrate it faster into daily opera ons and be able to offer it to the customers. Industry has been forced to the change in bigger and faster way than planned, especially in terms of development of new mone za on/business models to be based on digital services and innova ve solu ons. ES. What do you suggest to entrepreneurs who are facing stress in these mes Berislav Čižmek. Entrepreneurs are very flexible and understand that the rules for running everyday business opera ons have changed. Most of them made a very good assessment of the situa on and implement new ways of doing business during COVID 19 crisis (working from home, using different ways of government support to keep financial stability, to postpone/cancel events for the later me, cut unnecessary ac vi es and costs) and start to exploring new business models for the future ac vi es. July 2020
Interview future challenges!
The City of Umag receiving the award: “European Town of Sport”
ES. What is your personal overview of the situa on? Berislav Čižmek. The trade fair industry expects from the government a clear prospect of restar ng trade fairs, which mirror the economic situa on. However, under the influence of the corona virus crisis and government restric ons, the situa on is not good at all. Trade fairs/events are a business pla orm that will be important for restar ng the economy by presen ng innova ons, new technologies and products and for new orders. Trade fairs provide important impetus to s mulate an economy that has been hit hard by crisis measures. They are pla orms for the presenta on of innova ons, increasing produc vity, exports and for nego a ng coopera on, especially for small and medium-sized companies ES. How badly has your region been affected due to this pandemic? Berislav Čižmek. Since whole Central/South Eastern Europe had a lockout from mid of March ll mid of May 2020 most of the companies faced different restric ons, people started to work from home and most of the ac vi es were stopped due to COVID 19 pandemia. However in the most of the countries of Central/SE Europe the number of infected people/deaths was much lower than in Western Europe/USA and crisis was well managed by the governments. Companies connected with travelling, tourism, organiza on of events are s ll facing the problems since they have restric ons and very low level of ac vity and income. ES. Your 3 takes on how to cope with these mes? Berislav Čižmek. Assess the situa on, Innovate and change what is needed and move with your team on to face the 41 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
ES. What will be the future of business tourism? Europe is opening up. How do you see tourism gradually opening up and what are your sugges ons in this regard? Berislav Čižmek. Already on May 13, 2020 European Commission gave its guidelines for the tourism and transporta on inside European Union, which was a very important step in considering traveling across Europe. From 1 July, EU Member States should start li ing restric ons on noncompulsory travel to the EU for residents of the following third countries: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and PR of China, subject to reciprocity. Croa a is one very popular tourism des na on and we opened the borders to tourists and business people from end of May ( ll last weekend some 350 000 tourists came to Croa a to spend summer holidays or weekends, especially at Adria c coast), believe that by the me will be more safe and less demanding to travel. Tourism and business tourism were affected by COVID 19 crisis and special protec on and safety measures to be taken while travelling. Believe it will be easier and more acceptable for most of the people to travel by car to tourism des na ons than to fly to des na ons far away from your country/home. Today we experienced that Slovenia, our neighbouring country, brought decision about addi onal travelling restric ons for the residents of Croa a and I had to postpone my business trip planned to take place in few days since the travelling would become more difficult and I would have to take addi onal tests and checking of my health to be able to enter Slovenia. ES. What is your perspec ve on Air Travel opening up? Berislav Čižmek. With the li ing of the restric ons and less COVID 19 cases the air traffic is slowly recovering too, hope it will go in this direc on in the future however all air passengers should be aware of the fact that safety and health protocols will be very strict and will influence on our travelling experience. I would expect that air travelling in 2020 will be much lower comparing with the previous years and we will travel by plane for really good reasons and to the des na ons which are too far to be reached by car. July 2020
Global News
New Digital Fes val By The Big 5 To Connect Thousands Of Construc on Professionals Across Africa
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he global pandemic and restric ons over travel and gatherings are posing unprecedented challenges to businesses, and the building and construc on industry is no excep on. Technology and event organisers' experience are bridging the physical gap, providing viable solu ons to overcome at least some of today's pressing issues. On July 21 and 22, The Big 5 Digital Fes val Africa, a new online pla orm powered by The Big 5, the largest por olio of construc on events in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, will bring together thousands of construc on professionals for two days of networking, learning, and businessmaking in Africa. The digital event, the first of its kind
suppor ng the infrastructure and construc on communi es across the con nent, aims to build resiliency, boost the industry's recovery efforts, and help plan ahead for the postCovid-19 era, connec ng businesses and professionals in a safe and convenient way. One hundred providers of construc on solu ons from around the globe will present their latest products across the two days of the event. The goal is to establish new business rela onships and reinforce the supply chain's resiliency in a market, the African one, where infrastructure spent in 2021 is expected to increase by 10.8% YoY, according to ABiQ. Beyond innova ve product demonstra ons, The Big 5 Digital Fes val Africa will deliver insight, inspira on, and direc on through a broad educa on agenda. With an emphasis on business con nuity, infrastructure development
and investments, digitalisa on, governance, and sustainability, the event's program provides on-point informa on and intelligence to industry players already ac ve or interested in entering the African market. Confirmed speakers include Ministerial representa ves as well as thought leaders from across Africa and beyond. Muhammed Kazi, Vice President at dmg events, the organisers of The Big 5 Digital Fes val Africa, says: “We are thrilled to leverage on our 40 years long experience as organisers of construc on events to launch a digital pla orm serving the African and global construc on community during these unprecedented mes. The Big 5 Digital Fes val Africa aims to help infrastructure and construc on stakeholders in Africa reconnect again through over 15 hours of quality networking opportuni es, join forces, get inspired, and envision novel solu ons for the industry's future.”
Eurobike Set To Take Place On November 24-26
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urobike 2020 will go ahead on the revised dates of November 24-26, the event's organisers have confirmed. Originally set to be held in early September, the trade show in Friederichshafen, Germany, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The south-west German state of Baden-Wür emberg, which hosts the trade fair, released new COVID-19 guidelines, sta ng that trade fairs could take place, providing safety and social distancing advice is followed. 42 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Eurobike was called off in early May, with a plan B in November quickly mooted, including limi ng the event to the public and making it available purely for B2B a endees. Organisers did not confirm limita on on the event though, aside from the official COVID-19 guidelines. “The authori es have now given the final goahead,” read a statement from the organisers. “According to the Corona Regula on of the State of BadenWür emberg of June 23, from September onwards trade fairs may be held, providing they comply with the corresponding Corona guidelines. We are delighted that the special edi on Eurobike will go ahead in compliance with the regula ons on November 24-26, 2020. Traceability, social distancing and hygiene measures will be taken, with July 2020
organisers sta ng that they're working on implemen ng the appropriate measures as soon as possible. “We take our responsibility towards exhibitors and trade visitors extremely seriously and will have a corresponding protec on and hygiene concept in place. The Eurobike organisa on is now working according to the authori es' guidelines to put in place detailed protec on measures as quickly as possible. “In addi on, we are con nuing to carefully monitor the current situa on and developments concerning the COVID19 pandemic and remain in close contact with the authori es. We endeavour to offer a high degree of planning security for Eurobike 2020 and to clarify any uncertainty.
Global News
Messe Frankfurt Celebrates Its 780th Anniversary – By Ge ng Back To Business On 11 July 1240, Emperor Frederick II granted trade fair rights to Frankfurt am Main, marking the birth of Messe Frankfurt. Now, 780 years later, the company can look back on an even ul history in which the Frankfurt trade fair developed from a medieval marketplace into a global player – experiencing many successes and mastering various crises.
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eter Feldmann, Mayor of Frankfurt am Main and Chairman of the Messe Frankfurt Supervisory Board, had this to say about Messe Frankfurt's anniversary: “Trade fairs have driven our city's development. Nowhere else are trade fairs such an integral part of a city's history as they are in Frankfurt. Emperor Frederick II's official grant of trade fair rights marks the historical origin of a success story that started around Frankfurt's City Hall (Römer) 780 years ago and con nues to this day. From these beginnings, Messe Frankfurt evolved over the centuries into the world's largest opera ng trade fair company. Yet even a er 780 successful years, it remains true to the tradi on of trade and interna onality that is firmly rooted in its home city of Frankfurt.” As soon as Messe Frankfurt celebrates its 780-year anniversary, it will be ge ng straight back to business: following a global lockdown las ng mul ple months, Messe Frankfurt is once again holding trade fairs. It all kicks off with Intertex le Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics on 15 July 2020 in China. The trade fair is part of a network of some 50 interna onal tex le events in Messe Frankfurt's por olio, which has included Frankfurt Fashion 43 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Week since June. Trade fairs are also resuming business in Germany – in strict compliance with an extensive protec on and hygiene concept. Smaller events are already underway on the Frankfurt exhibi on grounds, and trade fairs will be joining them soon: Nords l will be leading the way in Hamburg in September, followed by the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. Replacement dates have also been planned in 2020 for many of the Group's postponed events worldwide. Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Execu ve Officer of Messe Frankfurt: “We are delighted that our events will once again be serving as pla orms for personal interac on. Our resump on of event opera ons worldwide demonstrates Messe Frankfurt's flexibility in responding to challenges. We are able to offer our customers around the world the pla orms they need – regionally, na onally, at a European level and globally – while sa sfying today's new local regula ons and requirements. The past 780 years have demonstrated me and again just how important trade July 2020
fairs are for promo ng economic recovery in mes of crisis, and our customers have been making it clear to us that face-toface encounters and dialogue are irreplaceable.” A look at history shows that trade fairs, as mirrors of the economy, are repeatedly confronted with crises. Even back in 1635, for example, Frankfurt's Spring Fair had to be cancelled on account of fallout from the Thirty Years' War and an outbreak of the bubonic plague in Frankfurt. Already, the measures taken to help thwart the spread of disease included border closures, health cer ficates, passport systems, entry and exit checks and quaran nes. Trade fairs' central role in economic development was clear even then. No sooner had the First World War ended than plans began for the Interna onal Import Fair in October 1919 and the Spring Fair in 1920. 95 percent of the exhibi on grounds were destroyed during the Second World War, and their immediate reconstruc on sent a clear signal about Frankfurt's importance as a trade fair centre. Trade fair opera ons resumed with the Frankfurt Fair in October 1948, relying in part on provisional lightweight construc ons, tents and open-air spaces. 72 years later, the global coronavirus pandemic has been challenging the event industry since the start of 2020. Marzin: “The trade fair landscape will change as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and topics such as digitalisa on, safety and security will have a key role to play. Yet the trade fair industry's most important success factor remains personal encounters – something that Messe Frankfurt's pla orms have been making possible for 780 years now. Because the demand for face-toface encounters is even greater today than it was before.”
Global News
Following Record Year, NürnbergMesse Takes An cyclical Approach To Covid Crisis With EUR 285.7 million in sales and a profit of EUR 2.3 million, 2019 was the most successful odd-numbered year in company history Response to Covid-19: Safeguard liquidity while inves ng in the future Ÿ Coronavirus accelerates transforma on: New hybrid and digital trade show formats planned Ÿ Interna onalisa on: New trade shows in the Coa ngs product family (paints and varnishes) in China and Brazil Ÿ Outlook despite and with Covid-19: 2020 sales expected to be around EUR 100 million Ÿ
The recap of NürnbergMesse’s financial figures could hardly be more varied. On the one side, the trade events company made an impressive showing with the most successful odd-numbered year in its history – in 2019 it generated not only record sales of EUR 285.7 million, but a profit of EUR 2.3 million, a new high for an odd-numbered year. On the other side, the coronavirus has made 2020 an excep onally challenging year for trade shows, with 41 postponements or cancella ons on the calendar so far, 23 of them at the Nuremberg exhibi on centre. NürnbergMesse is taking a deliberately an cyclical approach to the coronavirus pandemic. It is shielding precious liquidity by saving on costs and postponing investments. But at the same me, it is inves ng selec vely in forward-looking efforts like developing hybrid trade show formats, expanding services, and further interna onalising its por olio. conferences. Comprehensive measures for security and hygiene are also part of the picture. NürnbergMesse is also se ng out in a new direc on in the promising field of hydrogen.
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he 2019 trade show year will go down in NürnbergMesse history as the high point before 2020 became the Year of Corona. The trade show company held 176 events around the world, drawing 35,439 exhibitors and about 1.4 million visitors to more than 1.1 million square metres of exhibi on space. Thus the company grew significantly more dynamically than the compe on for the sixth year in a row. “At NürnbergMesse, fiscal 2019 was a true record year. Our strong financial and event performance indicators had laid down a stable base for a further successful, equally record-se ng 2020 year – before the coronavirus impaired us massively, as it did so many others”, said NürnbergMesse Group CEO Dr Roland Fleck. Response to Covid: Safeguard liquidity, while inves ng in the future 44 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Its HYDROGEN DIALOGUE event at the Nuremberg exhibi on centre on 18 November 2020 will not only network local Bavarian, na onwide German and European players in all aspects of hydrogen, but will also support the State of Bavaria’s hydrogen strategy. The new format will provide a future central pla orm for experts in government, business and science – and is thus ul mately expected to make Nuremberg a “hydrogen capital”.
NürnbergMesse took a two-pronged approach to the 2020 spread of the coronavirus, with the a endant restric ons on the global trade show business. First, safeguarding liquidity remained a top priority. To achieve that, the company cut costs all down the line, introduced shortened work schedules for the first me as a way of protec ng jobs, and deferred planned investments, such as the construc on products for the new congress centre “NCC Süd” and a new employee building. But at the same me, NürnbergMesse is inves ng in efforts that will be highly significant for its future development.
New hybrid and digital trade show formats The coronavirus pandemic has led NürnbergMesse to add a digital extension to its me-tested range of trade shows. The new Corporate & Digital Development unit, established at the beginning of the year, will manage this major corporate transforma on, and work closely with event partners, exhibitors and visitors to encourage the introduc on of new hybrid trade show formats.
These include developing hybrid concepts for trade shows, expanding services, and strengthening the company’s core competences: trade shows and
The kick-off came early in July with the virtua l edi on of the MedtecLIVE trade show, in which everyone, whether classic suppliers
July 2020
Global News of medical technology, research groups or start-ups, gathered to dialogue on a shared pla orm online. The GaLaBau and it-sa trade shows this fall will also be held in modified form. While GaLaBau involves product presenta ons at the Exhibi on Centre that will be made accessible virtually, it-sa will begin offering yearround innova ve dialogue formats as the best possible way of networking the IT security industry together. “In terms of digitalisa on, we view the crisis as an opportunity: important steps that we had already ini ated before the pandemic will now be addressed even faster and more vigorously, so that we can get our exhibitors and visitors networked not just in person, but also digitally”, said Fleck’s fellow CEO Peter O mann, summarising the company’s rising digital ac vi es.
Steadfast interna onalisa on Pandemic or not, NürnbergMesse has kept its interna onalisa on strategy steadfastly on track. Last week, subsidiary NürnbergMesse China restarted its events business with three trade shows and one conference, all held under rigorous standards for safety and hygiene. From 1–3 July, BIOFACH CHINA, NATURAL EXPO CHINA, CRAFT BEER CHINA and the PAK-iD conference for the packaging industry a racted more than 300 exhibitors and 13,000 visitors to the firm’s exhibi on halls in Shanghai. The company is also pushing ahead its global ac vi es with trade shows in the paint and varnish industry (coa ngs). Working with Vincentz Network, one of Germany’s largest firms for trade publica ons, and the Chinese coa ngs associa on CNCIA, NürnbergMesse will be holding the first China Coa ngs Show
from 2–4 September. And in Brazil, NürnbergMesse Brasil will be working with Vincentz Network and the Brazilian coa ng manufacturers’ associa on ABRAFATI to mount the trade show of the same name, ABRAFATI. This is South America’s most important combined trade show and conference on coa ngs, and is planned for São Paolo in September 2021. Outlook for fiscal 2020 Fleck and O mann report that at present there is no way to set a reliable figure on the actual impact of the coronavirus lockdown on business for fiscal 2020. A crucial aspect will be how events evolve in the second half of the year. But the two CEOs emphasise that because of the virus, the original sales target of EUR 350 million for 2020 certainly will not be achieved. For the moment, the company is assuming sales of around EUR 100 million for 2020 instead.
Reed Exhibi ons Publishes Framework For Reopening Events Ÿ
Reed Exhibi ons has developed a robust framework of measures to support the health and safety of all our customers, partners and employees as our events reopen for business. Called Reed Exhibi ons’ Events in the New Normal, the 5-Point Plan outlines the precau ons and preventa ve measures for organized industry gatherings that will emerge in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The five key areas are: Ÿ
Collabora on and Engagement with the relevant authori es across the globe (including WHO), eminent subject-ma er experts, associa ons and partners to reach a collec ve agreement on a core set of health and safety guidelines that Reed Exhibi ons will adopt and implement.
45 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Risk Management to ensure our precau onary and preventa ve measures meet all expecta ons, are propor onate to Covid-19 risks, and remain fitfor-purpose
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(Early) Planning in collabora on with venues, partners and local authori es to deliver safe and secure events, while remaining alert to the latest risks at any given point in me. This will allow us the flexibility to ramp our response up or down as local circumstances dictate
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Communica ons across mul ple channels in the run up to, and during our events, to build confidence and allay anxie es and concerns for all a endees
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Precau onary Measures, Controls and Countermeasures – from physical distancing, enhanced hygiene controls and the use of PPE, to the use of innova ve and technical solu ons to maintain the a endee experience
while comba ng and managing the disrup ve effects of Covid-19. “In this difficult and uncertain me, the health and safety of our colleagues, exhibitors, visitors and fans is of paramount importance to Reed Exhibi ons” says Nathalie Haxby, Global Head of Communica ons, Reed Exhibi ons. “Trade exhibi ons are a far cry from ‘mass gathering’ events. They are well ordered market places for conduc ng business and commerce where we are able to affect condi ons, se ngs and situa ons. The same is said for organised business to consumer (B2C) events. While there will be certain differences to manage, we are again able to affect the exhibi on space. We believe when we next meet in organized industry gatherings, having a consistent and coherent programme of enhanced measures will provide the assurance and confidence that our shows and events have health and safety as our number one priority.”
July 2020
Global News
Hong Kong's Annual Book Fair Postponed At Last Minute Amid Covid-19 Resurgence
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he Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has announced that it will postpone the annual Hong Kong Book Fair, ci ng difficul es in implemen ng disease control measures amid the resurgence of locally transmi ed coronavirus infec ons. In a statement released the HKTDC said that – in light of the latest epidemic situa on – the Book Fair should be rescheduled. The large number of people involved would make it difficult to perform contact tracing and impose subsequent outbreak control measures, it said. “The Government and the HKTDC understand the disappointment of the industry sector and exhibitors as well as the public with the postponement of this major annual event,” the council said, adding that the government has pledged 46 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
to con nue its support for the book fair using the An -epidemic Fund. The HKTDC's marquee event at the Hong Kong Conven on and Exhibi on Centre a racted a total of 980,000 visitors last year, during the peak of the an extradi on bill protests. Three other expos to be held this week – the Sports and Leisure Expo, Educa on and Careers Expo and Entrepreneur Day – will be rescheduled as well. The HKTDC did not men on the new event dates, but local media cited exhibitor sources as saying that the Book Fair may be held in September or December. The organiser added that cket refund details would be announced later on the Book Fair website. Local resurgence Hong Kong registered 38 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, among which 30 infec ons were locally transmi ed. It brought the city's tally to
1,469 confirmed cases. Chuang Shukkwan, head of the communicable disease branch of the Centre for Health Protec on (CHP), admi ed the outbreak was “ge ng a bit out of control,” as health authori es struggled to trace the source of 14 cases reported on Sunday. On Monday morning before the HKTDC's announcement, Jimmy Pang, spokesperson for the 2020 Hong Kong Book Fair Concern Group, said on RTHK's Millenium that the book fair could be postponed to Christmas or Lunar New Year, 2021. He said more than 200 exhibitors said in a survey conducted by the group that they would rather bear the financial loss than risk a community outbreak. Pang also cri cised the HKTDC for not making an earlier announcement: “If you don't make a decision as early as possible, booksellers are in a dilemma, should they bring their products to the venue?”
July 2020
Global News
Global DMC Partners’ 2020 Survey Predicts Strong Rebound Of Face-to-face Events In 2021 Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ
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lobal DMC Partners, the largest global network of independent des na on management companies, has released the results of its most recent Mee ngs & Events Pulse Survey, which sheds light on the widespread impact the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on the MICE industry. Conducted April 27-May 4, the survey polled 374 respondents from the mee ngs and events industry, of which 93 percent were event planners versus vendors or suppliers. Par cipants included third-party planners (30 percent; independent mee ng planners (16 percent); associa ons (13 percent); and planners in the technology, finance, pharmaceu cals, insurance and legal segments. While the survey included event professionals from across the globe, the majority of respondents were based in the United States (64 percent), followed by the United Kingdom (10 percent) and Canada (7 percent). Here are some key findings: Ÿ 56 percent of respondents predict that 25 percent or less of their 2020 live events will take place; however, 13 percent said that all 2020 programs have been cancelled. Ÿ While 69 percent of live events plan to go virtual or incorporate virtual
47 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
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aspects this year, virtual is not considered to be a long-term replacement for face-to-face programming. However, live events and hybrid solu ons con nue to be in high demand. Ÿ Compared to GDP’s previous Q1 2020 survey, 20 percent more planners are seeing a decrease in their mee ng budgets for the remainder of this year, while 17 percent have experienced cutbacks in their incen ve budgets. These decreases are most apparent among planners outside of the U.S. Ÿ 88 percent predict that some por on of their 2020 events will be or are already postponed to 2021, while 37 percent said that at least half or more of their programs have been postponed to 2021. Ÿ While the majority of survey par cipants were unsure about their 2021 budgets, 64 percent predict that they will host live events some me between August 2020 and January 2021. Regarding what respondents expect faceto-face mee ngs to look like going forward, Global DMC Partners asked respondents about new ini a ves they will be adding to their live event programs. Here’s what they learned: 90 percent will be adding hand sani zer sta ons. Ÿ 79 percent will be placing restric ons Ÿ
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to maintain physical distancing between par cipants. 61 percent will be reducing a endee counts. 66 percent will be elimina ng buffets and serving plated or boxed meals 60 percent will only contract with hotels, venues and event vendors offering verifiable sanita on processes. 40 percent will require face masks for a endees. 43 percent will provide temperature checks. 28 percent will provide medical and EMT personnel on staff. More than half will offer a virtual op on in addi on to live events. 23 percent will hold programs closer to home, elimina ng interna onal travel in the short term. 11 percent are considering ground transporta on changes. 5 percent are considering private chartered flights.
Looking ahead, travel restric ons are predicted to be the biggest obstacle for planners based outside of the U.S., while general fear is the primary concern for U.S. planners. “With COVID-19 treatments and vaccina ons becoming more of a reality, the implementa on of health and sanita on protocols worldwide, and seeing many government travel restric ons li ed, I am confident in a strong rebound of face-to-face mee ngs and events,” said Catherine Chaulet, president and CEO of Global DMC Partners. She con nued, “2021 is already looking strong worldwide with high demand for mee ngs and events taking place in Q2. Full back to normal is expected to start late 2021 once the en re travel supply chain, from airlines to hotels and all hospitality-related services, are back in place.”
July 2020
Global News
Cosmopack And Cosmoprof Asia To Be Held Under One Roof In 2020
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oint organisers BolognaFiere Group and Informa Markets have decided upon strategies to create more inclusivity for Cosmopack and Cosmoprof Asia 2020 including a specialty one- me consolida on of both collocated events held under one roof at the Hong Kong Conven on & Exhibi on Centre (HKCEC) from 11-13 November. In addi on, the team plans to launch a Digital Week of ac vi es held right a er the physical event as to offer more companies and professionals the ability to par cipate virtually. In recent weeks and months Asia has seen rapidly improving condi ons in some countries and regions including several consecu ve days and weeks of 0 to near 0 newly reported cases of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the trajectory of recovery for neighboring countries such as Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia are also improving–indica ng the possibility of further future eased travel restric ons. S ll, with many countries and regions s ll not reaching similar levels of stability yet, the organisers have proac vely decided to create an atmosphere of global beauty opportunity and inclusivity synonymous with the fair's history and reputa on. As a specialty one me move, Cosmopack and 48 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Cosmoprof Asia will be combining the two fairs typically held at Hong Kong Conven on & Exhibi on Centre (HKCEC) and AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) all under the roof of HKCEC for 2020. This combina on will allow for buyers to maximize me by sourcing from 12 product sectors all in one venue including Cosmoprof Asia's finished products categories of Cosme cs & Toiletries, Beauty Salon, Nails, Natural & Organic, Hair and the new “Clean and Hygiene” as well as Cosmopack Asia which will host suppliers from Ingredients & Lab, Contract Manufacturing, Primary and Secondary Packaging, Pres ge Pack & OEM, Print & Label, Machinery & Equipment. “As the first interna onal professional beauty event to take place in Asia in 2020 the industry is hungry to get back to sourcing, buying, learning, and selling,” said Antonio Bruzzone, General Manager, BolognaFiere Group, Director of Cosmoprof Asia Ltd “Our job is to provide the best experience for as many beauty stakeholders as possible during this week in November.” Cosmopack and Cosmoprof Asia 2020 will also see the first- me debut of a Digital Week held right a er the physical event. This ini a ve is a virtual extension of the event which will enable
travel restricted beauty professionals worldwide to par cipate in Cosmopack and Cosmoprof Asia 2020. The fair's Digital Week will include virtual presence for select exhibitors, real- me online business matchmaking for sellers and buyers, and a host of content rich recorded and live sessions including seminars and footage from the fair. “Cosmopack and Cosmoprof Asia 2020 will be an important recovery pla orm for the interna onal beauty industry,” said David Bondi, Senior Vice President – Asia of Informa Markets and Director of Cosmoprof Asia Ltd. “Our decision to move the two fairs into one venue as well as launching a virtual experience apart from the live event is to create an inclusive opportunity. Our Digital Week is also a good experiment to see how we can con nuously improve our offerings and services for the future.” Finally, with regards to onsite health and safety measures, the team has adopted the highest standards along with following local/federal and global health protocols and working closely with the venue operators to provide an op mally secure and safe environment.
July 2020
Global News
Trade Fairs Can Restart In Germany From September - 2020
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he exhibi on organisers in Germany are planning a par cularly extensive range of trade fairs for 2021: Around 190 interna onal and na onal events are on the programme, 20 of which have been postponed from 2020 to next year due to the corona pandemic. In addi on, there are almost 160 exhibi ons with a regional catchment area, so that according to the current status, almost 350 events are to be held, which have been listed by AUMA – Associa on of the German Trade Fair Industry. For 2020, around 145 exhibi ons are s ll on the agenda from the end of August, including 75 of interna onal or na onal relevance. 30 of the 145 events were moved from the first half of the year to the second half due to corona reasons. According to AUMA Chairman Philip Har ng: “Trade fairs will again give impulses for purchasing and procurement to many industries, by presen ng innova ons and 49 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
through personal trust-building communica on”. However, the implementa on depends in individual cases on the progress made in the corona relaxa on of the federal states, but also on the possibili es and willingness of the exhibi ng and visi ng companies to send their employees to the fairs. The AUMA Chairman further said: “Exhibitors and visitors expect safe and promising general condi ons. However, the size and quality of the exhibi on centres offer very good condi ons for implemen ng the necessary hygiene and distance regula ons”. Based on AUMA recommenda ons, the exhibi on companies draw up hygiene and safety programmes – individually for each event – in accordance with the requirements of the authori es. Many exhibi on organisers have developed new formats for this autumn with modified concepts and newly defined visitor target groups. These are
very important ini a ves, also with the aim of intelligently linking the real trade fair experience with complementary digital formats. Har ng: “We need reference projects that show: trade fairs also work under difficult condi ons”. The experience gained would help all those involved to plan the following trade fairs. The atmosphere at the exhibi ons will not yet be the same and the number of par cipants will probably not reach the previous levels in many cases. “We are ge ng used to new condi ons in everyday life, when shopping and soon also on holidays”. Meanwhile, there had been good progress in the opening of the borders within Europe, and interna onal air traffic was gradually gaining momentum again. These are important prerequisites for successful trade fairs in autumn. It will s ll need some me before the exhibi on business returns to normal, but the economy cannot wait un l the condi ons are ideal again.
July 2020
Global News
Messe München Celebrates Record FY 2019
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esse München closed the financial year 2019 with a new record sales volume of EUR 474.2 million, with an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, deprecia on and amor za on) of EUR 138.4 million. With over 32,000 exhibitors and around 2.5 million visitors at the Riem, Munich loca on, Messe München registered a record year in 2019. A big contribu on to this was made by bauma – the world's largest fair in terms of area – with over 3,000 exhibitors and
more than 620,000 visitors from 200 countries. All told, 15 of the company's events and 163 guest events took place at the exhibi on centre of Messe München last year. However, in the current year, cancella ons of trade fairs and conferences, due to the coronavirus pandemic, poses a considerable economic challenge for Messe München, the company said in a statement to the media, adding, Digital formats are to extend the exis ng por olio of fairs. Klaus Di rich, Chairman & CEO of Messe München, said: “In the worst case, we reckon with a loss in sales of up to EUR 240 million in the present year. We are doing everything to protect the health of our exhibitors, visitors and staff and to be in a posi on to carry out the upcoming events successfully in the autumn.
So, the resump on of trade fairs is our top priority objec ve at the moment, because fairs are the most effec ve s mulus plan to reflate the economy.” As a replacement for cancelled events, Messe München has developed digital conferences and pla orms to at least offer its customers the possibility of making presenta ons and contacts and conduc ng business online. The digital formats newly created by Messe München include the ISPO Re. Start Days, IFAT impact and the Hybrid Summit of EXPO REAL 2020. “Promo ng only Hygienic and Social Distancing will not help to survival, Total Exhibi on Marke ng has to change we need to create awareness about how Exhibi ons will help to come out these crises to Exhibitors, Govt authori es etc the marke ng need to change,” Klaus concludes.
IAEE Releases Guide On “Essen al Considera ons For Safely Reopening Exhibi ons & Events” exhibi on during a pandemic. Releasing the document, IAEE President & CEO David DuBois, said that IAEE's Health and Safety Task Force teamed with associa ons across the industry to collaborate with the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) in order to make sure we are applying the best informa on available to us as this most recent pandemic progresses. “It is important to remember that we are opera ng within a fluid situa on and the informa on will be changing,” emphasized IAEE Health and Safety Task Force Chairperson Tim McGuinness, IAEE Board Director.
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he Interna onal Associa on of Exhibi ons and Events® (IAEE) has just released a White Paper tled “Essen al Considera ons for Safely Reopening Exhibi ons and Events,” Version I. The White Paper is aimed at providing a general informa on for considera on by exhibi on organizers when planning for and producing an 50 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
“We will be upda ng this document as we learn from COVID-19 and even moving beyond this par cular health crisis.”Suppor ng organiza ons to Essen al Considera ons for Safely Reopening Exhibi ons and Events include: the Experien al Designers and Producers Associa on (EDPA); Exhibi on Services &
Contractors Associa on (ESCA); Exhibitor Appointed Contractors Associa on (EACA); Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC), a division of Interna onal Sanitary Supply Associa on (ISSA); Interna onal Associa on of Venue Managers (IAVM); Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) and United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. Areas of content include: General Principles for Health & Safety Opera ons, Communica on, Educa on, & Awareness, Exhibi on & Event Opera ons, Conven on Centre/Venue Cleaning Preven on Measures, Legal Considera ons. David DuBois concludes “Although we are eager to get back to our usual face-to-face business environment, safety must be the top priority and we must look to the science and medical communi es for the best ways to go about producing our shows.”
July 2020
Global News
UFI And MBB-Consul ng Launch The Exhibi on Management School the next level,” says Mary Larkin, UFI President.
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FI and MBB-Consul ng have joined forces to launch a new industry educa on programme for exhibi on organisers, the UFI-Exhibi on Management School (UFI-EMS). This collabora on will drive high-quality educa on and training for the global exhibi on industry for years to come. Both par es have already worked very successfully together on the Exhibi on Management Degree, delivering training courses for the industry all around the world. The UFI-EMS will replace the UFIExhibi on Management Degree. “Now is the perfect me to take that next step and evolve UFI's educa onal offerings to
“The new UFI-EMS programme is an intense, me and budget-efficient course, designed to provide ongoing training and development for mid-senior level employees.” The new programme's curriculum was developed hand in hand with the UFI community. UFI and MBB worked with an exhibi on industry task force, made up of senior members from different exhibi on organisers across all UFI member regions. As a result, the curriculum is a programme designed by exhibi on organisers for exhibi on organisers. The UFI-EMS programme covers a wide
range of relevant industry topics, such as strategy, sales, marke ng, leadership, interna onal business development and more. Delivered by a faculty of industry experts, the UFI-EMS combines both global insights and regional exper se – following the clearly ar culated need for educa on that adapts a global curriculum to specific regional and local requirements. MBB-Consul ng already offers a wide range of training courses and its founder Ma hias Tesi Baur has lectured in previous years for UFI educa onal programmes. “We are extremely proud to bring our skills and experience in industry educa on to our partnership with UFI,” says Tesi . “This programme will play a key role in a rac ng and retaining the best talent in our industry.” Star ng 28 September 2020, the inaugural programme will be held online.
ICC Sydney Launches Industry Leading Hybrid Event Solu ons
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nterna onal Conven on Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) has announced the launch of a conven on industry first, with a new hybrid on-site and virtual event solu on. The innova ve dual-product will allow clients to host more than 300 people at the venue in accordance with strict social distancing measures, whilst also live streaming to an unlimited number of remote a endees. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, ICC Sydney developed a successful virtual events service which has seen the venue host mul ple world class events over the past three months. These included the Mee ngs and Events Australia 2019 Na onal Awards, Stand Tall 2020 – Australia’s largest youth event which was streamed to more than 40,000 students, and a ra of community and Government events. As COVID-19 restric ons are progressively 51 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
rolled back, the new Hybrid Event Solu ons is the next evolu on in events. It will be an ongoing suite of products available to clients, reflec ng the seamless merging of technology with live experiences needed for the current and postpandemic era. To deliver the dual model, ICC Sydney has applied cu ng edge technology into its new hybrid spaces, including projec on screens, entertainment ligh ng and PA systems. This set up will allow both a endees in the rooms and guests located remotely to have the same high quality event experience. CEO of ICC Sydney, Geoff Donaghy, said that with the Hybrid Event Solu ons ICC Sydney is con nuing to adapt to the changing environment while looking forward to the future. “COVID-19 has meant that as a business we have had to change the way we meet
the needs of clients. Our skilled team was quick to ini ally put in place a format that allowed us to con nue to deliver extraordinary events online. We have now evolved this into a world class hybrid solu on which enables us to transi on back to in person gatherings, while giving clients greater choice in the longer term”. Director of Audio Visual Services Brian Nash said the new service is a reflec on of a seamless merging of technology at a me when businesses and clients need to adapt in order to con nue to connect and collaborate.
July 2020
Global News
V-Commerce And The Future Of Trade Fairs Wri en by Paul Woodward
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've seen the future and am afraid that it may include the Mop Manufacture Live Show. For years and years the discussions have been going round in circles: panic, panic, the virtual events monster is going to each my lunch. Phew, no it didn't. The virtual events weren't very good. Panic, panic, the AI blockchain virtual events monster going to eat my lunch. Phew, no it didn't as that version of the monster was too confused to know how he might be useful. "Human beings are social animals, blah blah". The Covid-19 crisis has raised the volume on the virtual events discussion to new highs. We've seen mul ple, o en hurried efforts to salvage something of the 2020 season by shi ing all or part of an event online. Results have, not surprisingly been mixed and, as various countries ease lockdown and announce re-opening dates for trade fairs, a sigh of relief is beginning to become audible. But, is it premature? We've long been wai ng for a secret sauce that will really make virtual trade fairs fly. And no, sorry to those who tried, it wasn't the avatars zipping around clunky virtual reality recrea ons of realworld exhibi ons. It certainly wasn't a web page with endless corporate videos masquerading as 'exci ng events'. And, it wasn't a dull online catalogue that makes an old Yellow Pages directory look like an exci ng read. But, it just might be what we're seeing coming out of China. We're calling it v-commerce and we're seeing, for what I believe is the first me, extensive use of interac ve live streaming as a B2B sales tool. It's already big business in the B2C world in China. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, 52 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
Rmb434 bn (US61.3 billion) was sold via live-streaming last year. The Nikkei ar cle quotes AliExpress's Yuan Yuan saying that "livestreaming-based ecommerce helps build trust. When you watch a livestreaming, you can directly interact with the seller and gain a be er understanding of the product". The interac on is at the heart of this. That's what makes it poten ally different and so much more effec ve than a web-based version of old-fashioned TV shopping channels. With massive restric ons on global travel killing the tradi onal sourcing fairs at least for this year, China's army of SME exporters has been desperately looking for ways to interact with its interna onal buyers. The Canton Fairs and other similar events in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Dongguan simply won't be happening this year. China's Ministry of Commerce, which owns the Canton Fair, appointed video gaming giant (and owner of the WeChat app) Tencent to deliver an online pla orm. Alibaba, not be outdone, has launched a programme of its own online fairs.
epitome of professionalism. But, business s ll gets done. What we need to know now is whether this is poten ally a serious disrupter, par cularly to the more transac onal end of the B2B trade fair business. Is it working for exhibitors and buyers? Do they see it as an alterna ve or addi on to par cipa ng in a tradi onal exhibi on? Or, is it just another technology distrac on which ul mately will leave the old-fashioned but remarkably effec ve trade fair as king of the sourcing castle? I, together with my colleagues at BSG in Hong Kong, will be looking as deeply as we can into this in the coming weeks. Since it was established 20 years ago, BSG has been following the online disruptors as well as the tradi onal trade fair business. Is now their hour? We will shortly be publishing an in-depth report looking at this to help to try to answer exactly those ques ons. Contact me or BSG's Mark Cochrane if you want to know more or have ideas about this exci ng topic.
Both rely heavily on interac ve livestreams. Alibaba boasts “Real- me Mee ng with Exhibitors”. On the first day of the online Canton Fair, the site was boas ng over 6,500 simultaneous live streams. So, the project is nothing if not ambi ous. There were undoubtedly teething troubles as Reuters reported. And, to suggest that some of the livestreaming efforts were a bit 'amateur hour' would be kind. That being said, anybody who has ever penetrated into the heart of the big sourcing trade fairs will know that they're not always the July 2020
Paul Woodward is chairman of Paul Woodward Advisory and of Business Strategies Group. He is former Managing Director of UFI and, prior to that, spent 25 years in the events and B2B media industry in Asia.
Global News
UFI Asia-Pacific Conference & Digital Innova on Forum Cancelled For 2020 difficult situa on and we look forward to bringing this event back to Macau at the earliest opportunity.” says Mark Cochrane, UFI Regional Manager Asia-Pacific.
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FI had to make the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 UFI Asia-Pacific Conference and the Digital Innova on Forum which were originally scheduled to be held in Macau in March and were subsequently rescheduled in late August. “The UFI team worked closely with our hosts in Macau on this decision. Unfortunately, the travel restric ons across the region and around the world made it impossible to proceed with this event in Macau in 2020. We thank our hosts at the Macau Fair & Trade Associa on (MFTA) for their professionalism and understanding in this
“As the host of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference 2020, the Macau Fair & Trade Associa on is saddened by this cancella on, but we understand and support UFI’s decision given the current pandemic. At MFTA, health and safety are our priority in order to ensure the recovery of the exhibi on industry! Hence, we will look forward to welcoming the exhibi on industry back to Macau when the me is right. Un l then, stay healthy and happy!” remarks Council Chairperson, Synthia Chan. Although this is disappoin ng for all involved, the UFI team is looking to the future with op mism and will return to
Macau in 2022 to organize another successful edi on of the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference. And before that in 2021, the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference will go to Melbourne, the first me that an UFI event will take place in Australia. UFI will work to facilitate mee ngs between members during the 2020 UFI Global Congress in a revised format. Open to more than 50,000 industry professionals globally who work for UFI member companies, UFI’s Global Congress is known as the exhibi on industry’s largest global mee ng of the year, combining interna onal networking with unique content. It is an opportunity to gain insight into topics of strategic interest, as well as into the trends and challenges that the exhibi on industry is currently facing.
CPhI Worldwide Postponed Un l 2021 New Virtual Event ‘CPhI: Fes val of Pharma’ Introduced
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ollowing discussions with key partners and industry stakeholders, the CPhI Worldwide in-person event is now confirmed to return in 2021, with the 2020 edi on in Milan not taking place. Responding to the need to connect + collaborate in today’s pharmaceu cal industry, CPhI is excited to present you with the CPhI: Fes val of Pharma, a new virtual extravaganza for the global pharma community. From 5 – 16 October 2020, the CPhI: Fes val of Pharma will combine the world’s leading pharma companies, incredible speakers and unparalleled networking opportuni es, all of it under the most advanced digital ecosystem. The decision to postpone the event comes from how different countries are facing varying levels of disrup on due to Covid-
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19, with some in stages of gradual recovery, and others struggling to contain the virus. Due to this, Informa Markets states “it will be difficult to ensure the same level of par cipa on and highquality, in-person experience at Milan this year that everyone has come to expect at CPhI Worldwide.” For this year, Informa Markets will host a 10-day digital event for the pharma industry tled the CPhI Fes val of Pharma. It will take place form 5-16 October and feature a mix of pla orms and experiences which includes an interac ve digital marketplace for sourcing products and services, enhanced matchmaking for connec ng with new and exis ng partners and worldrenowned speakers for learning about the latest innova on and industry
development. “We have been working hard to make CPhI Worldwide in Milan a reality in 2020 but, with interna onal travel only returning gradually post Covid-19, at present it is difficult to guarantee the usual quality of experience at what is a truly global event. Recognising the importance of the event to the industry, we have agreed with our key partners and stakeholders to adapt to a digital format in 2020, launching the CPhI Pharma Expo. This large-scale digital exhibi on will mirror on-site offerings and provide our community with a powerful pla orm to access vital one-to-one client mee ngs and high quality leads, which are cri cally important in these challenging mes,” commented Adam Andersen, group director, Pharma, Informa Markets.
July 2020
Global News
IELA Talk #8 Americas – Winning Confidence Back
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he Interna onal Exhibi on Logis cs Associa on (IELA) held the latest in its IELA RELOAD Regional Talk series on 3 July. Its IELA Talk #8 Americas – Winning Confidence Back was designed to leverage support to get the Americas re-opened IELA RELOAD greeted a panel discussion on the situa on of the Americas in the event and exhibi on industry. Prominent speakers were invited to share their thoughts and give insight from their local region. Moderated by IELA Board Members, Mariane Ewbank, Director Fulstandig Shows E Eventos MC Ltda, Brazil, and Sandi Tro er, Director Business Development TWI Group, Inc. Canada, 6 top Industry Leaders from the Americas were introduced on the panel: Ÿ
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Mary Larkin, UFI, The Global Associa on of the Exhibi on Industry President & Diversified Communica ons USA President Amy Calvert, Events Industry Council CEO David DuBois, IAEE, The Interna onal Associa on of Exhibi ons & Events President & CEO Sue Sung, Go Live Together Execu ve Director Marco A. Basso, Informa Markets Brazil CEO João de Nagy, Ubrafe Brazil VicePresident Celia Navarrete, Amprofec Mexico President & Informa Markets Mexico Execu ve Vice-President Daniel Galante, GL Events Brazil Director & São Paulo Expo Exhibi on & Conven on Center Director
Sandi Tro er opened the discussion with Mary Larkin who echoed consensus that “Collabora on is key” in order to bring the industry out stronger than ever from this 54 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
crisis. Important is that all regions are represented in the US. David Dubois stated that the US presents a situa on similar to being “on a roller-coaster”, well behind Europe and Asia regarding pandemic control. By leveraging support and joining forces, the success in re-opening safe shows will be based on the ability of “making sure that we have a united front” according to Mary Larkin, who then men oned how the UFI forum has connected all industry actors to share informa on and intensify advocacy efforts. Sue Sung presented “Amplifying the Live Events Industry – Response to COVID-19” in which commi ed ac ons have been taken regarding health and safety, the consequent impacts, public awareness and legisla on. She named the industry a “growth engine”, with 6.640.000 jobs rela ng to live events and a total value of 419 billion US dollars. She con nued to say “Events cover every sector of the US GDP” as the industry is made up of smaller shows in all sectors. There is certainly s ll a lot of educa on to be done as people do not automa cally understand the industry. Commen ng on the complete closure of shows, Sue Sung highlighted the fact that there are no half measures – whereas restaurants can par ally open, trade fairs cannot. In order to keep business going, virtual events and the increase in digital news have become the norm but as David Dubois commented “Virtual is not the answer”. Celia Navarrete said that a “combina on will be our new reality” and content will be of utmost importance in order to a ract the audience. Marco Basso sees digital solu ons as complimentary to face-to-face mee ngs which are the more effec ve way of doing business. Mary Larkin explained that having talked to customers from all industries on a regular basis, it is clear that the re-opening of trade fairs is awaited with an cipa on, especially among small to medium-sized companies who rely on shows to fuel their business. Larger companies have the headache of controlling large numbers of visitors on their stand which causes eventual problems with visitor registra on.
Her view is that trade fairs will become much more focused with less people under one roof in the exhibi on halls, resul ng from techniques such as staggered visitor entry. Marco Basso men oned that there is also the aspect of more ROI being demanded from shows by exhibitors. In Brazil, João de Nagy highlighted a similarly challenging situa on. 2019 had been an excellent year and then early 2020 the industry was hit badly. Building confidence levels is very important as there is as yet no official date for re-opening trade fairs and events. Mariane Ewbank summed up the situa on by saying that a clear vision is just not possible as the situa on is very unpredictable and changes constantly regarding the pandemic. João de Nagy commented, he is “hoping for August, praying for September”. However small and medium-sized companies cannot survive on the long term in certain industries. In the past, Brazil has witnessed a healthy rise in investment due to its posi ve economic environment. A wide range of base products are produced in Brazil and so it is ever so important to have trade fairs to encourage more foreign investment. It is impera ve that “trade fairs and corporate events should detach themselves from consumer events” in order to be recognised as a vital part of the revival process for the economy as a whole. Marco Basso reflected on his fight to keep shows and emphasised that strong partnerships with venues saved the day. The percep on of trade fairs being mass gatherings damages the effect of any efforts being taken for the cause. As he explained there is a “domino effect” as European subsidiaries recommend the cancella on or postponement in Brazil of show par cipa on as uncertainty grows. Celia Navarrete reported similar se ngs in Mexico where the BtoB market was hard hit by the crisis. Shows in sectors such as Hospitality and Construc on are important for the country and there is hope that these can take place in order to boost the economy.
July 2020
Global News
A Message From UFI President, Mary Larkin
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he Power of collabora on and leadership has become very apparent in our industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The industry has aligned itself around one issue – the safe reopening of events! This has put the focus on the importance of advocacy within and for our industry. Let’s face it: For the most part, many players from our industry saw li le need for advocacy in recent years. Business was going well, with economies growing simultaneously around the world. However, the current pandemic shows us that we have more work to do to prove how crucial events are to local and na onal economies and businesses, and as a driver of employment. A consistent theme during many of the webinars and discussions has been that our industry needs to speak with one voice: together, we need to share the same messages to educate, advocate and clearly demonstrate the leading and driving role our industry plays in the global economy. Day by day, the news is more posi ve, with 55 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
many countries now allowing events to reopen. Much of this has been achieved by the dedica on of our industry advocates and colleagues all around the world, most of them members of our global UFI community. We should all thank each and every one of them! They have taken the lead in educa ng our local and regional governments on both the role the industry plays as an economic driver and on how to host events safely and by minimizing any risk. Those events have helped many small and medium sized companies to reopen and get back to business. When life returns to whatever the “new normal” will be, we need to con nue this advocacy and build on what we are learning right now. At UFI, we have been inves ng and ac ng on advocacy consistently in the past decade; be it through aligning messages in the Associa ons Commi ee, or through the EEIA – our joint presence in Brussels at the seat of the European Union. In addi on, we have also been crea ng much noise and global presence through Global Exhibi ons Day that we launched with our
global community five years ago. Thanks to all this collabora on and our network, UFI has been able to move fast in recent months. With the UFI Global Framework, the Good Prac ce Guidance we developed with AIPC and ICCA, and emerging standards like the “All Secure”, we are well aligned across the exhibi ons and conferences sector to secure our “license to operate” again. And we are happy and eager to share our material and messages with everyone advoca ng for our sector – like the GoLIVETogether ini a ve in the US, of which UFI is one of the founding partners, or through Groups like JMIC – the Joint Mee ngs Industry Council. You can play a part in this advocacy… here is one last reminder that the call for candidates for the UFI Board of Directors is closing on 15 July. There is s ll me to send your candidature to UFI. I am again encouraging our industry’s female leaders to step forward and help drive the future of our industry.
July 2020
Global News
Time To Start Again: The Role Of Italian Exhibi ons By Loredana Sar – General Secretary, AEFI exhibitors. As you can imagine, the consequences have been more than serious, for us, for organisers, for the territory and for all connected industries - without which trade fairs cannot be held, industries which, like us, are facing an uncertain future.
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ver since I have been working in AEFI I have found that the world of exhibi ons is complex and fascina ng, and has a significant impact on the country's economy and culture. This has been made all the more evident by my daily work with organisers, fi ers, logis cs companies and vendors from the most diverse sectors, including hotels, restaurants and taxis. A world of companies and people whose energy moves the country as a whole. Italian exhibi ons are a fully fledged mul plier of value and socio-economic wellbeing, a strategic tool capable of making a major contribu on to the rebuilding of the economy and society at large, and crea ng op mism for the future. I have therefore been very happy with the a en on accorded to exhibi ons over the last 6 months, during which their role as an engine for the na onal economy has finally been recognised. AEFI has been invited into the control room of interna onalisa on, the Trade Fairs Round Table has been launched, and we have par cipated in the Export Pact, which recognises exhibi ons as one of the six pillars of the Made in Italy brand. And let's not forget the support given by ICE (Is tuto Commercio Estero - Foreign Trade Ins tute) to our industry. In the months from March to July, 88 interna onal exhibi ons and 93 na onal ones were cancelled; if we consider just the interna onal events, that means we lost 2,000,000 visitors and 40,000 56 | www.exhibi onshowcase.com
AEFI represents 40 exhibi on centres all over Italy which hold 96% of interna onal events, 50% of which are also organised by our members. In these months we have therefore suffered on two fronts, both as exhibi on centres and as organisers of trade fairs. Star ng again from exhibi ons We have always held that the figures show that exhibi ons are a driving force for our na onal economy: every year, they account for business agreements worth a turnover of 60 bn euro Ÿ and 50% Italian exports are born from business contacts made during trade fairs Ÿ
So in this very difficult me, trade fairs play a crucial strategic role in crea ng rela onships and promo ng and growing awareness of Italian excellence worldwide. The aim is always to transform these rela onships into business and employment for our country Italian exhibi on centres, even if they have been closed, have never stopped "bringing Italy to the world and the world to Italy", and have done so in many ways But it'll take more to recover our hard hit industry. What we are going through at the moment is unique in modern history. There are no best prac ses or procedures from the past to guide us: we must face the situa on in a simply new way. And, above all, we need a new perspec ve on certain issues, including: Internal divisions in the industry: while
before we could work separately, even duplica ng events because we were certain to find willing visitors to our country, now we must consider that every businessman, whether from Italy or abroad, is more likely to think twice about his travel plans and probably select just one European trade fair… and we, therefore, have to make the most of our unique selling points without compe ng against each other. The link with the territory: while before we could consider exhibi ons as opportuni es to welcome richer tourists and big spenders, now we must make sure that we offer cost efficiency to our foreign visitors, working together with all actors in the supply chain. It is undeniable that Italy has a unique landscape and quality of life, but cost will now be the determining factor of every choice, and we must win with unbeatable value for money and efficiency. Concrete support from the authori es: while before we could imagine that the exhibi ons industry could be selfsufficient, now we very much need concrete support from the government: it must help us to make up our losses – even if only in part – and invest in a future which is s ll very uncertain. We are therefore playing a very ac ve role in interna onal associa ons, to ensure that funds intended to make up loss of business are exempted from the rules governing state aid. But to conclude, having said all the above, I am nonetheless convinced that each of us can make a concrete, determined effort to posi vely affect the re-opening of our na onal economy. In these uncertain mes I am o en reminded of the words of German poet Berthold Brecht: ...this is what you ask. Don't expect any answer other than your own (from 'An den Schwankenden - To the Indecisive')
July 2020
Global News
Redefining The Future Of The Exhibi on Industry - The Final Report From The Exhibi ons Think Tank While the full report, available here, covers detailed results across the six categories, it also highlights some key findings about the nature of change across the industry
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he first Exhibi ons Think Tank has launched its final report, which gathers the insights of more than 150 global industry professionals to set out recommenda ons for the future direc on of the exhibi on industry. The culmina on of two global surveys and close to 100 collabora ve online sessions, the report will be used as a resource to support the industry in adap ng to changing customer demands since the arrival of COVID-19. The report covers six key categories – the value proposi on, exhibi on set-up, digital services, HR, commercial strategy, and marke ng and communica ons – and focuses on why and how each of these needs to change, as well as offering solu ons to take forward. The report concludes with recommenda ons for managing and delivering change to achieve success and ensure the industry doesn’t fall back into old habits. Ma hias Tesi Baur, from MBB-Consul ng Group, the organisa on behind the Exhibi ons Think Tank, says: “This report is a resource of the combined skills of 150 people from the exhibi on industry. It spotlights that change in our industry is inevitable and undoubtedly needed, which puts us all on a mission to define this change, before this is done by others.” Some key findings
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Health and safety is not the only focus – while COVID-19 is a health crisis, focusing on health and safety alone will not bring about the holis c change needed to tackle the issues caused by the crisis. COVID-19 has made exis ng issues more urgent – the arrival of the global pandemic highlighted that change is long overdue in many areas, such as digital services, and that this change needs to be accelerated to adapt to new demands. Holis c change is needed – areas of change are dependent on each other, meaning it’s not possible to solve challenges in one area, whilst ignoring challenges in other areas. Ways to influence change – key ways to influence change include crea ng a more diversified workforce in terms of skills, moving towards more customer-centric strategies and placing more emphasis on digital services and hybrid events. A need to embrace change – success will only be achieved if the industry embraces change and avoids falling back into old habits. How the report was developed In April 2020, MBB-Consul ng brought more than 150 professionals together to discuss how the exhibi on industry needs to change following the COVID-19 crisis and how to shape the future offer for customers. The Exhibi ons Think Tank comprised 20 working groups, spanning five con nents and four languages. Using an online crowd-intelligence communica on process they discussed how change can be achieved, integra ng feedback from the wider industry gathered through online surveys.
The research included four phases: Defining the areas of change What exactly needs to change in each area? Ÿ What does a new solu on look like to customer target groups? Ÿ How can the exhibi on industry manage this change? Ÿ Ÿ
Phase one highlighted 35 poten al areas for change, which were grouped into nine key catergories by the Exhibi ons Think Tank working groups. Six of these categories were then taken forward in phases two and three. The results of all four phases are presented in detail in the final report. Con nuing the success Following the launch of the report, MBBConsul ng founded the Exhibi ons Think Tank Club (ETT Club), with a goal to con nue the discussion around innova on and networking in the industry. Ma hias Tesi Baur says: “The Exhibi ons Think Tank was the first of its kind in an online format, and I want to thank the team leaders, par cipants, media partners and suppor ng companies for the great contribu ons, discussions and insights. Want to find out more? h ps://www.exhibi onthinktank.com/exhi bi ons-think-tankworking-together-toredefine-the-industry-final-report/ Commen ng on Exhibi ons Think Tank ini a ve, Raghav Khosla, Group Editor, Exhibi on Showcase and Team Leader of Team India Reboot 3.0 described the experience as truly enriching. “It was great to interact and ponder upon cri cal issues for our industry with global peers, ge ng deeper insights on cri cal issues affec ng our industry and the way ahead for the overall sector. The report looks very impressive and i would like to thank our team members for their contribu on and support to play a meaningful part in this ini a ve.”
July 2020