If trade fairs and congresses have stopped being organised, what alternatives does a B2B company have?
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 8:46 am
The trade fair and congress sector has suffered a colossal blow in 2020 due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2, but will it be profitable to attend the trade fairs organised in the second half of 2020? What alternatives do I have?
If trade fairs and congresses have stopped being organised, what alternatives does a B2B company have?
The Trade Fair and Congress sector has suffered a colossal blow in 2020 due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the COVID-19 disease), which has forced the postponement or cancellation of many international trade fairs.
The Expodatabase website , an online service for identifying international trade fairs with a powerful search engine, indicates that the total number of trade fairs cancelled or postponed worldwide amounts to more than 1,500 , of which approximately 900 have been in Europe, 400 in Asia and 200 in North America, with the number of trade fairs affected in South America, Africa and Oceania being practically residual. The sector has come to a complete standstill in the second quarter of 2020 and activity is not expected to resume until June at the earliest.
The number of trade fairs planned for the second algeria whatsapp number data 5 million half of the year before the health crisis was already quite large. To this large number should be added a large number of trade fairs and congresses that have not been cancelled and that have sought new dates for their celebration from June 2020 onwards. The trade fair calendar is therefore completely saturated for the second half of the year.
Companies that had planned to participate in, for example, six events throughout the year will see their participation in these fairs concentrated in the last four months of the year , making it more than possible that these events will overlap. Of course, this calendar will make the work of the marketing and sales teams of companies much more difficult, preventing optimal preparation of all the events.
But the big question is not whether companies will be able to efficiently manage their participation in the trade fairs in the second half of the year, but whether these fairs will be able to attract a minimum attendance figure that will make them profitable. At present, it seems highly probable that all the trade fairs that have been postponed will find a place in the calendar and that they will also be able to attract a sufficient critical mass.
But the big question is not whether companies will be able to efficiently manage their participation in the trade fairs in the second half of the year, but whether these fairs will be able to attract a minimum attendance figure that will make them profitable.
The biggest focus of the pandemic is currently in Europe. Many member countries have suspended the Schengen Area and restricted the free movement of people. Italy and Spain are at the height of the health crisis and the worst is probably yet to come in France and Germany. In the United Kingdom, which is no longer a member of the European Union, a wave of infections is also expected in the coming weeks. How long will the closure of the internal and external borders of the European Union last? The European Commission has proposed an initial period of 30 days within which it hopes to control the pandemic, but no one dares to predict for sure how it will evolve and when we will be able to return to normality, which will translate into a lifting of the bans on the free movement of goods.
What can be predicted without fear of being wrong is that the easing of lockdown policies and the gradual opening of borders will be accompanied by measures that will temporarily restrict the movement and concentration of people. And these restrictive measures are very likely to last beyond the month of June.
Many other countries have taken the same measures as the European Union. The United States, for example, decreed the closure of its borders with the European Union on March 13, and China has just announced that it is temporarily closing its borders to foreigners and will only allow the entry of nationals.
Even if we manage to control the pandemic and lift mobility restrictions before the start of summer, a scenario that is difficult to predict, the psychological consequences of the health crisis we are experiencing will last for months and will almost certainly extend throughout 2020.
What could be the return on investment in trade fairs in a context of movement restrictions and psychological barriers to free movement?
Given a scenario that is very likely to come true , what could be the return on investment in trade fairs in a context of movement restrictions and psychological barriers to free movement? It is clear that each case must be analysed, assessing the sector of activity (whether it has been strongly affected or not), the location of the fair (Europe or outside it), its economic cost, the number of visitors we expect, their origin (whether it is local or international), our presentation in the market (are we a new player or do we have a strong presence in it)…etc.
If trade fairs and congresses have stopped being organised, what alternatives does a B2B company have?
The Trade Fair and Congress sector has suffered a colossal blow in 2020 due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the COVID-19 disease), which has forced the postponement or cancellation of many international trade fairs.
The Expodatabase website , an online service for identifying international trade fairs with a powerful search engine, indicates that the total number of trade fairs cancelled or postponed worldwide amounts to more than 1,500 , of which approximately 900 have been in Europe, 400 in Asia and 200 in North America, with the number of trade fairs affected in South America, Africa and Oceania being practically residual. The sector has come to a complete standstill in the second quarter of 2020 and activity is not expected to resume until June at the earliest.
The number of trade fairs planned for the second algeria whatsapp number data 5 million half of the year before the health crisis was already quite large. To this large number should be added a large number of trade fairs and congresses that have not been cancelled and that have sought new dates for their celebration from June 2020 onwards. The trade fair calendar is therefore completely saturated for the second half of the year.
Companies that had planned to participate in, for example, six events throughout the year will see their participation in these fairs concentrated in the last four months of the year , making it more than possible that these events will overlap. Of course, this calendar will make the work of the marketing and sales teams of companies much more difficult, preventing optimal preparation of all the events.
But the big question is not whether companies will be able to efficiently manage their participation in the trade fairs in the second half of the year, but whether these fairs will be able to attract a minimum attendance figure that will make them profitable. At present, it seems highly probable that all the trade fairs that have been postponed will find a place in the calendar and that they will also be able to attract a sufficient critical mass.
But the big question is not whether companies will be able to efficiently manage their participation in the trade fairs in the second half of the year, but whether these fairs will be able to attract a minimum attendance figure that will make them profitable.
The biggest focus of the pandemic is currently in Europe. Many member countries have suspended the Schengen Area and restricted the free movement of people. Italy and Spain are at the height of the health crisis and the worst is probably yet to come in France and Germany. In the United Kingdom, which is no longer a member of the European Union, a wave of infections is also expected in the coming weeks. How long will the closure of the internal and external borders of the European Union last? The European Commission has proposed an initial period of 30 days within which it hopes to control the pandemic, but no one dares to predict for sure how it will evolve and when we will be able to return to normality, which will translate into a lifting of the bans on the free movement of goods.
What can be predicted without fear of being wrong is that the easing of lockdown policies and the gradual opening of borders will be accompanied by measures that will temporarily restrict the movement and concentration of people. And these restrictive measures are very likely to last beyond the month of June.
Many other countries have taken the same measures as the European Union. The United States, for example, decreed the closure of its borders with the European Union on March 13, and China has just announced that it is temporarily closing its borders to foreigners and will only allow the entry of nationals.
Even if we manage to control the pandemic and lift mobility restrictions before the start of summer, a scenario that is difficult to predict, the psychological consequences of the health crisis we are experiencing will last for months and will almost certainly extend throughout 2020.
What could be the return on investment in trade fairs in a context of movement restrictions and psychological barriers to free movement?
Given a scenario that is very likely to come true , what could be the return on investment in trade fairs in a context of movement restrictions and psychological barriers to free movement? It is clear that each case must be analysed, assessing the sector of activity (whether it has been strongly affected or not), the location of the fair (Europe or outside it), its economic cost, the number of visitors we expect, their origin (whether it is local or international), our presentation in the market (are we a new player or do we have a strong presence in it)…etc.
