Knowing that no one has ever experienced such a situation we would have liked a little more courage and flexibility , but we couldn ’ t complain . We got subsidies from the state , federal government , and support from our shareholders . We overcame the situation . Our motto was # WCBS – We Come Back Stronger .
MF : Regarding the shows that are happening , are you mainly serving your domestic market ; are you seeing the return of international visitors ? KD : About 90 % of our portfolio are international shows , with most of them being number one worldwide . We have BAUMA [ a global trade show for construction machinery , building material machines , mining machines , construction vehicles and construction equipment ] for example , with visitors from 200 countries , which is more than the number of members in the United
Nations . The next edition will be held in October 2022 .
Currently we don ’ t see Chinese participants at our shows . The Russians are of course not present either . But we have a strong attendance not only from Europe , but also from overseas like the US , Israel and from other countries . I ’ m confident it will improve in the next few weeks .
MF : What do you think are the biggest challenges the industry now faces ? I ’ ve heard lots of different things including the increase in energy prices , where that cost has to be passed down . KD : I think the biggest challenge for the industry is that the trade show business will be different in comparison to the period before the pandemic . Renting space is one thing , but we must further develop our business model to combine it with digital platforms . The new normal will be different to the old one .
Things like energy prices , labour costs , and so on , I think will be temporary . The most basic challenge will be if somebody succeeds to find a clever combination between the space business and the digital business .
Technology has come into our lives in the last two years in a way that it hasn ’ t before . But I think the pandemic was just the right amount of time to make people sick of video conferencing and that sort of stuff .
The appetite for live I have no doubt is there , but the organisers now have to really put a bigger focus on creating a meaningful experience and be more content led rather than be driven by the traditional ‘ buy and sell ’.
We ’ ve learned a lot during the past two years , we organised altogether 25 digital events . We learnt that to just have a presentation , or the panel discussion is not enough . We tried to understand what the basic interactions during a trade show are , and to transfer it to a digital platform . This includes speed dating programmes , to create a similar situation to having a coffee with someone that you don ’ t know . Or even up to sport events where people went running and they stayed connected with the digital platform . These were ways to find a basic interaction of a trade show in digital .
Before the pandemic , I always said I believed in the future of trade shows . Meanwhile , I say the future of trade shows is approved because everybody realised that digital communication is not a 100 % substitution for personal meetings . We had a laser show last week , and two weeks ago a watches and jewellery show , and people were happy to meet personally again .
If the industry is able or the players in the industry are successful in developing their business model further , I would say that the temporary challenges like increasing inflation rate or whatever will be handled smoothly .
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 3 2022 13