PARIS — A campaign is being run across Europe to demonstrate how business events are different from other large gatherings when it comes to reducing the potential risk of COVID-19. UFI’s latest webinar explored these efforts, which have yielded very different results, in Spain and the Netherlands.
“It is clear that some countries value exhibitions and understand our industry better than others,” said Pascal Bellat, UFI IT Manager, who moderated the webinar.
Building a file in the Netherlands
Nowhere has the effort to understand been as intense as in the Netherlands, where the entire business events community has come together, in cooperation with the authorities and the scientific community, to create the FieldLab program. Its goal: to create a body of research by organizing eight pilot events. The project is led by Peter Lubberts, CEO of Backbone International.
“Like in other countries, our government has said that all events are the same because a lot of people are gathering,” he said. Organizers believe the risk level depends on the type of event, he added. They created four types of events: passive indoor (theater, seminar); active indoor (sporting event, concert); active outdoor (outdoor sports, concert); and active outdoor (festival, where people walk from one place to another). Working with scientists, they collected data on the pilot events that show the real infection risks for each type.
Related. Strong advocacy paves the way for exhibitions to open in European countries
Similar pilot programs are underway in the United Kingdom and France, among other countries. “You can’t count 50,000 people coming to watch a football match for several hours as the same number of people coming to a trade show for three or four days,” Bellat said. “In the United Kingdom, a trade show is still considered a festival or a wedding, which doesn’t make sense.”
The next step is for FieldLab organizers to take the risk model and recommendations from pilot projects, such as pre-event testing, and present them to the government to work towards increasing capacity levels and reopening events.
Related. Industry calls on German government to revive trade fairs
Spain is a study in contrasts
The situation in Spain, which has just hosted its first exhibition, Hospitality Innovation Planet, is different.
“This fair has brought a breath of fresh air to Madrid and our sector,” said Maria Valcarce, director of FITUR (IFEMA). “In April, we will attend the Fashion Week show, a public exhibition of contemporary art, and then in May, FITUR, the leading international fair for tourism and travel in Spain.”
Related. The Spanish government has designated FITUR as an “event of exceptional public interest”
She attributes this decision to government support and understanding of the importance of the exhibition sector to the overall economy. The recent designation of FITUR as an Outstanding Public Interest Event for 2021 also brings additional funding.
“Tourism is the most important industry in the Spanish economy,” said Valcare. “In 2019, it represented more than 12% of the gross domestic product and more than 12% of employment. For the Spanish government, FITUR is therefore a platform that represents the strength of our tourism industry.”