RAI Amsterdam has successfully organised its first exhibition in China , since the start of the coronavirus , outbreak Aquatech China 2020 .

The international exhibition for process , drinking and waste water in Asia was hosted at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai ( 31 August – 2 September ).

Aquatech China 2020 , had been originally planned to run 3-5 June , before being pushed back three months . Now the events industry in China is opening up again .

There were 2,300 exhibitors and 80,297 visitors attending the show which was held across 125,000sqm of exhibition space , according to RAI Amsterdam COO Maurits van der Sluis , who added that a lot of attention was paid to organise the exhibition according to governmental regulations in order to ensure a safe , responsible and hospitable show . Measures involved focal points such as hygiene guidelines , facemasks and temperature checking . During registration visitors had to provide their official ID-number and there was facial recognition at the entrance . At all times visitor flows

were regulated .

CEO of CHC Expo , RAI Amsterdam ’ s local show organising partner , William Wang , explained that his team had received many requests from exhibitors following the initial postponement to cancel their booths and even to postpone the exhibition to 2021 . “ We wanted our exhibitors to regain confidence , so we carried out one on one communication to ensure that the show could take place as scheduled . We offered exhibitors additional promotional opportunities through our webinars . At the same time , many of our partners , such as industry associations , media outlets , and some well-known brands who have been our loyal customers over the years , offered great support to Aquatech China in various media channels , which played a huge role in supporting the show .”

Annette Bos , director water at RAI Amsterdam added : “ Tradeshows play a very important role in China . Both in business and culture , personal contact is highly valued . That is why we are proud that our partner CHC in Shanghai was able to organise this with the support of the majority of

Above : CEO of CHC Expo , William Wang

Upon arrival at the entranace , faces are scanned by a camera , digitised , compared to the code in the system and recognised . After the visitor confirmed their identity , a badge was printed

the water tech world .”

Although the Chinese government issued new regulations on pandemic prevention in May , the specific implementation rules and requirements for holding exhibitions were not issued in Shanghai until June , which effectively left the Aquatech China team just two months to publicly promote the show .

The task was further complicated by the fact that international business travel came to a halt , resulting in a significant decline of international visitors at the exhibition . “ In order to meet the needs of exhibitors ,” said Mr Wang , “ we analysed the visitor groups and selected the type of visitor that would be most valued by exhibitors as the key target of the multichannel promotion . We also added more on-site meetings and activities through partners to enrich the visitor experience .”

Mr Wang added that , following the process of consultation with the government and venue , organisers drafted the exhibition ’ s safety measures , which included the strict rules for on-site visitors . “ These antipandemic measures reassured our professional visitors , and provided them a safer experience ,” he said .

Annette Bos noted that of the four companies that managed to organise their stands from outside China , three have already rebooked their stands for next year ’ s show .

Aquatech China will next be held in June 2021 , followed by Aquatech Mexico in September .

The biennial Aquatech Amsterdam is due to take place 2-5 November 2021 and organisers report over 85 % of the show floor has already been sold .