An overview of the situation of international trade fairs

Marinella Croci of GO LITE, active in the promotion in Italy of B2B trade fairs that take place in emerging or fast-growing countries, has guided us in this strategic path for exports. Marinella is also freelance journalist for various specialized press ("Display Italia", "Plast Design", "L'Industriale", "Packaging Observer") and owner of GO LITE Coworking in Castelletto sopra Ticino, in the province of Novara, where she provides equipped and shared spaces, ideal to organize on-demand and smart working offices with the characteristics of flexibility and convenience that the world of work today requires.

In its many activities Marinella promotes fairs that take place in the so-called emerging markets, outside the European borders, particularly in Asia, Africa and Brazil. From her direct experience we have the evidence of how the pandemic has affected manufacturing.

“I realized the seriousness of the health emergency already at the end of January, when it was announced the ‘suspension’ of a fair that I promote in China, scheduled in March and then postponed to a date to be defined. Subsequently the fair was cancelled and postponed to 2021. In cascade, the same thing happened to most trade show events around the world. It was a completely new situation to face and communicate, which led me to help exhibitors to move in the right direction so as not to lose deposits and amounts paid. My main activity has become the management of cancellations and the search for decent solutions for exhibitors and visitors. 

Even today we are still living in extreme uncertainty: the health emergency has been extended in several countries (in Italy until October 15), making it difficult to participate in Italian and especially foreign trade fairs, as currently direct flights to non-EU countries are suspended. You can buy tickets with stopovers in Europe or the Middle East, but you must always check the regulations in force for entry to the destination countries a few days before departure. Please also pay attention to the purchase of the air ticket: they are refundable only if the flights are cancelled by the airlines, while in case of afterthought or personal problems, the ticket purchased must provide for this possibility in advance. To this scenario are added the restrictions imposed by some countries, such as Thailand, which required the obligation to take out insurance with high ceilings in order to guarantee repatriation to foreigners who contract the disease, and the obligation of quarantine both on entry into the country of destination and on return to Italy. The situation is rather fluid, so it is advisable to buy the air ticket close to the departure date and check the regulations and obligations imposed by the respective countries by consulting the official government websites. On the website Viaggiare Sicuri della Farnesina, for instance, the countries or geographical areas are divided into six classes with different limitations for the return to Italy: EU, Schengen, UK countries fall in category B (fill in declaration upon return), Bulgaria and Romania in category C (declaration, quarantine, ban on using public transport from the airport), Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, Thailand in category D (same obligations as category C), Brazil, Kuwait, Oman, Peru, Serbia in category F (entry into Italy only for EU citizens before July 16, 2020 and subject to obligations category C).
The regulations are constantly changing and the international situation must be constantly monitored”.

While in Africa, Latin America and the United States the health emergency is still very serious, in Asia some fairs have been postponed or cancelled not so much because of the risk of contagion but because the organizers feared a lower number of international visitors. This is certainly a current risk also for the fairs still scheduled in Italy in 2020: a remote possibility, considering the current international scenario. In Asia, to date, a fair number of trade fairs have been instead confirmed from September to the end of the year.
In this context, virtual trade fairs are becoming established, which take place on platforms set up for meetings and organized by the same secretariats and with the same commitment and professionalism as physical fairs. Marinella Croci advises against hybrid trade fairs, which provide direct participation only for local exhibitors or for companies that have distributors in the territory and virtual or videoconferencing connections for foreign exhibitors not represented locally.

"This hybrid mode, introduced for some fairs, penalizes those who do not participate personally, creating inequality between those who attend the stand and exhibit their products interacting with potential buyers and exhibitors with empty stands even if equipped with interactive devices for virtual connections between visitors and companies. Moreover, Italians, less digitized but extremely creative and friendly compared to other European competitors, do not appreciate this ‘formal’ alternative and prefer the direct relationship with customers, based on personal interaction.
Much more interesting are the completely virtual fairs, where all exhibitors can participate only through interactive digital links, such as those of the Indian trade fair organizers that I promote in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. They are proposed alongside traditional trade fair events as a temporary solution to oversee a country or geographical area with limited access ensuring the same visibility to all exhibitors. In addition, the cost is extremely low and affordable for everyone.
In short, an opportunity to be seized on the fly, waiting for the usual trade fair appointments to resume, which would make it possible not to waste the market’s potential even in this period of pandemic crisis.
Among other things, during this period it was possible to participate in national post-Covid calls for tenders for internationalization with non-refundable grants for participation in virtual trade fairs as well as for the creation, editing and translation of brochures, videos and corporate websites in multiple languages”.

An invitation not to waste time in a historical period like the present one, in which participation in traditional fairs is limited, and not to lose opportunities for renewal compared to international competitors, very aggressive and technologically advanced.

For updated information, stay connected with us and Marinella Croci on her website or on LinkedIn: you will be able to know where you can participate in new fairs in total safety. And if you want to organize an international event, contact us: we will help you set up your stands to relaunch your business on a global level!

 

Marinella Croci, owner of GO LITE Coworking and freelance journalist

One of the latest trade fairs to be held in China in November 2019: the Greater Bay Area Industrial in Shenzhen, the international trade fair for plastic, packaging and molding machines.