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subsidiary , Fisa SA , showed its confidence in the market by recently acquiring what Francisco Sotomayor , GL ’ s managing director for Chile , described as the world ’ s second most important aquaculture event , Aquasur ( the number one is in Norway , he said ). It has also recently won a 40-year concession to redevelop and manage the Casapiedra event centre in Santiago which it will take over next year .
Sotomayor told EW : “ It ’ s been hard in Chile ,” where the impact of the pandemic has been compounded by social unrest , “ but we should be able to restart by the end of September .”
Sotomayor said his teams had launched digital events mainly to maintain the loyalty of clients and to keep brands alive . “ If you don ’ t connect for two years , you risk that people will forget you ,” he said . “ But , after two years , people are more than motivated to meet again ”.
Sotomayor remains cautiously upbeat about relaunching the company ’ s Expomin mining event ( last held in 2018 ). Instead of the normal 50:50 domestic international mix , he expects it to be around 30 % international . Creative solutions for those who can ’ t come in person , he said , could include building small booths with good internet connections to facilitate video conferences . It will be almost four years since exhibitors have been in the market and most will not , he feels , want to wait any longer .
Arango said that , even with the pandemic not fully controlled , “ travel is not a huge problem ” between most countries and regional events can still go ahead albeit clearly much reduced .
NürnbergMesse ’ s Picolo agrees Brazil is a little like the US or China , primarily a domestic events market , with its huge economy and population of 211 million . Even in normal times , most shows attract no more than 5 – 10 % of their visitors from the wider region . Now something like 80 % of visitors to most shows are from the São Paulo region .
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Picolo ’ s business in Brazil has been supported by a focus on event marketing and data services . This includes a content business , NMB Prime , a C-Level matchmaking service , and NMB Lab , a smart data service . “ This kept the business performing ,” Picolo said .
GL Events is also easing future venue pressures in Brazil . With a long-established position running Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro , the company already redeveloped the former Immigrantes venue into São Paulo Expo which it now manages , and will take over the 50-year-old Anhembi venue , committing R $ 620m ( US $ 120m ) for redevelopment .
Elsewhere , the new Panama Convention Centre has had its opening rescheduled for September . With 15,000sqm of exhibition space , it is managed by ASM Global and can transform the market in that part of Central America .
Industry leaders in Latin America are frustrated by how hard they ’ ve had to work to get their message across to politicians about the value of trade fairs . “ I ’ ve lost count of the number of times I went to City Hall ,” said Picolo . Sotomayor has been pushing the same message in Chile . “ Exhibitions are part of the solution , not the problem ,” he said .
Arango said she hoped one focus of the UFI Latam Conference would be the need for greater collaboration in a region she believes is less cohesive than others . “ There are 1,200 organisers and 700 venues in the region and there are many opportunities for them to work more closely ,” she said .
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The next European Conference takes place in Poznan , Poland in May 2022 . |
UFI ’ s digital European Conference trains thoughts on the future
The 2021 UFI European Conference in June put its spotlight on European excellence and thought leadership . Led by Nick Dugdale-Moore , UFI ’ s regional director for Europe , the digital event attracted 221 delegates from 32 countries and offered participants keynote sessions and expert content , as well as networking , matchmaking and business development opportunities .
There was much focus on the new reality to which organisers must adapt in the digital event space and one of the 38 speakers , Philippe Brocart , from Maison & Objet , shared experiences from his six years of running a digital marketplace alongside a face-to-face show . “ We are not selling square metres ; we are offering business opportunities on the platform ,” he said .
Olivier Ferraton , CEO of GL Events , focused on lessons learned from organising and servicing sports events . “ Hybrid solutions are a part of life ; they are nothing to be scared about ,” he said .
The conference provided updates on the reopening of the region , with some countries already up and running , and others struggling to get a ‘ go date ’.
The opening session included violinist Andrew Bernardi , accompanied by a piano trio , live from Trinity Laban Conservatoire , Greenwich , London . The event also hit a sporting high note with the European Footvolley Challenge , where top footvolley players went head-to-head live from eight UFI member venues .
“ Of course , we would have preferred to meet in person , but this year ’ s digital conference offered positive outcomes in terms of lessons learned and a view to what ’ s coming next ,” said Dugdale-Moore .
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