A round table dedicated to the restart of the exhibition sector will involve some protagonists of the institutional scene and trade associations.
Milan, 8 June 2021. The emergency that began over a year ago has affected many sectors. Trade fairs are among the sectors that have suffered the most with steep sales and an uncertain future, despite the reopening – at least on paper – is just around the corner.
The restart of this sector, strategic for the national economy and an indispensable tool of Made in Italy, which annually generates tens of billions of euros in business, is at the center of the round table:
“Italy: a 60 billion euro fair – Starting again together to enhance a strategic asset for our economy”.
It will be discussed on 15 June at 11:30 am – in conjunction with the reopening of the fair events – with MASSIMO GOLDONI – CFI President, CLAUDIO MARENZI – Pitti Immagine President, SANDRO STIPA – Asal President
There are video links with MASSIMO GARAVAGLIA – Minister of Tourism, GIUSEPPE LESCE – A.D. Sacmi is President of Federmacchine and MARCO GRANELLI – President of Confartigianato Imprese.
Moderator PAOLA ROTA
A chat for Q&A with guests will follow.
The objective of the round table will be to set up a constructive dialogue, aimed at relaunching a sector of enormous value that we risk “handing over” to foreign competitors due to our inability to create a system. Proposal closure on the role of the various components of the “supply chain”.
There are many topics that will serve as a guideline for the debate. Starting with the economic and strategic value of the trade fair sector for our country. Another topic is the value of B2B fairs as the basis of the Italian manufacturing industrial fabric and a fundamental lever for the internationalization and marketing of companies. It should be remembered that in the pre-Covid era, B2B events welcomed 40,000 exhibitors and 3 million national and international visitors. In fact, over 35% of exhibitors and 28% of professional visitors came from abroad.
We will also talk about the impact on the sectors adjacent to that of trade fairs. Such as, for example, tourism, hostitality, the ho.re.ca. sector, which will be discussed with the Minister of Tourism Massimo Garavaglia.
The safety of the location, which includes the theme of the green pass and protocols for non-EU visitors with the spread of “green corridors”, will be one of the “hot” topics of the round table.
The restart of trade fairs in Italy also represents a signal to foreign competitors. The suspension for almost 2 years is risky because the trade fair events are based on periodicity. On the contrary, our system could become a “terrain of conquest” for international organizations, capable of investing strong resources in a market considered to be particularly strategic.
A theme that implies another more institutional one: the lack of government interventions, considered by many to be insufficient and not timely.
The promises of last March relating to the arrival of funds turned out to be unsatisfactory with refreshments arriving at their destination for just 4 or 5%.
Furthermore, the appropriations made are arriving very slowly due to the many bureaucratic hitches. Finally, the implementing decree that unlocks the procedures is missing.