Italy ’ s road to recovery
he blocking of tradefair activity from the last week of February has seen the displacement or cancellation of over 180 international and national events scheduled in 2020 in Italy and a general decline in turnover of 70 % for the sector .
Activity has resumed , but the pandemic is still prevalent in many areas and more difficult months ahead are expected .
Exhibitions in Italy were allowed to reopen as of 1 September in accordance with a prime ministerial decree passed in August , although the government had agreed in June to the possibility of reopening exhibition centres on a regional basis , dependent on the epidemiological situation in their territories .
For the Italian Exhibition and Tradefair Association ( AEFI ), the national date at least represented an important milestone allowing the sector to maintain its position within the international scene , to communicate to all operators , especially foreign ones , that Italian tradefairs were able to reopen , as well as allowing statekholders to plan activities in the coming months .
The rules for re-opening are defined in regional government guidelines which AEFI has integrated into its own protocols .
The AEFI safety protocol has also been validated by the government ’ s Technical-Scientific Committee and represents a document to be followed by exhibition organisers for operational procedures .
In addition to the national protocol , organisers must respect the various regional provisions .
In terms of financial help from the government , there are subsidised loans to apply for , provided by Italian development finance institution SIMEST , for exhibitors wishing to take part in international tradefairs held in Italy , although AEFI is still awaiting any kind of national scheme of compensation for losses incurred in the wake of the closure of the industry .
AEFI believes now that it is important to create positive examples and case studies of the tradefairs that
News update
Bologna is set to organise some important exhibitions in October , the first is natural and organic products show SANA RESTART , 9-11 October at BolognaFiere . It will take place in full compliance with health and safety regulations . Fiera Roma has resumed activity with a series of examinations running 27 July-19 August . A long series of selective tests will take place at the Capitoline exhibition centre involving thousands of candidates . In September exhibitions resumed with two previews . Together with Unaprol , a collaboration between Fondazione Evoo School and Coldiretti Lazio , 24-26 September , Fiera Roma launches Evoo Trends , an event dedicated to the oil supply chain on the Lemonn digital platform . 25-26 September then sees Welfair , a health nutrition event organised by Fiera Roma , take place . And Rome , the world food capital , will also host three UN Food Agency events by the citybased organisations FAO , IFAD and WFP .
do manage to take place ( such as the VOICE in Vicenza - see p . 27 ) and to step up the industry ’ s PR campaign , including before government .
AEFI has also been working internationally with the International Exhibition Logistics Association as part of the ‘ Be strong together ’
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