Country focus
There is a significant relationship between the growth in foreign visitors
(+17%) and the more than proportional increase in Italian exports (+22%)
Italian exhibition elan
Industry association AEFI tells EW
about one version of ‘festivalisation’
and the power of the Fuori Salone
The fact that tradefairs bring wealth to
destinations is historically recognised,
although the awareness that destinations
can also be a source of great added value
for the events they host is relatively
more recent. This is particularly true in
Italy, where the environmental, cultural
and gastronomic values represent an
important phenomenon illustrated well by
Fuori Salone (events during Milan Design
Week).
The first Fuori Salone originated from
the Salone del Mobile in Milan, and was
born spontaneously in the early 1980s by
companies in the furniture sector.
Over time the event phenomenon
has become international and attracts
thousands of visitors from all over the
world. The project has expanded to
become a creative showcase for both
emerging and established design and
architecture studios.
In Verona, starting some years ago,
Vinitaly enriched its offer to visitors
with the Wine Fuori Salone, where wine,
culture, meetings and entertainment come
together for a unique experience in the
most evocative places of Verona, making
the city the world capital of oenology.
In collaboration with the municipality,
Arte Fiera Bologna every year promotes
Art City, a programme dedicated to
contemporary art with special projects
and a selection of exhibitions and events.
Since 2017 Macfrut has also seen a Fuori
Salone: Strawberry Days, a great event
along the Romagna coast dedicated to the
strawberry.
Assocation profile: AEFI
AEFI - the Italian Exhibition and Tradefair
Association - has 35 member exhibition
centres organising 1,000 events which
today cover a total area of 4.2m sqm.
AEFI member exhibition centres host
almost all the international and national
54
Issue 2 2019
tradefairs held in Italy and the association
lobbies institutions on the importance
of tradefairs as a component in Italy’s
industrial policy.
AEFI has a dedicated commission,
which works in collaboration with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation, to identify
strategic markets and opportunities for
growth.
To date, partnerships have been agreed
with Iran, Taiwan, Lebanon, India,
Thailand and South Africa, with AmCham,
the American Chamber of Commerce in
Italy, and with CENTREX, the International
Exhibition Statistics Union.
This year, AEFI plans to reinforce its
existing relations with Russia and China.
In parallel, agreements with the ICE
Agency, Simest and Sace contribute to
finding new opportunities for industry
operators.
AEFI is actively engaged in promoting
the certification of its members and
provides effective instruments to enable
exhibitors and visitors to decide which
exhibitions to attend.
In 2017, 79 Italian tradefairs obtained
ISFCert certification pursuant to ISO
25639:2008.
AEFI also is active in the annual Global
Exhibitions Day and also promotes key
sectors of the Made In Italy brand, with
targeted events in Rome.
AEFI appointed a new President a
few months ago, Giovanni Laezza, the
Managing Director of Riva del Garda
Fierecongressi.
Laezza served as Vice-President of the
association for 12 years.
www.aefi.it
(Continuation from p.52) >>>>>>>>>>>>
Rented exhibition space is also up. The
balance of +27% is lower with respect
to the previous quarter, but is definitely
positive compared to the same period
of the previous year (+19%).
The greatest contribution to the
total rented space was made by Italian
exhibitors (up +23%), followed by other
Europeans at +15%. The area booked
by non-EU exhibitors remained largely
unchanged.
Data regarding the flow of visitors
– up for 40% of respondents, down
for 36% – reflects a less encouraging
performance. The total growth of +4%
is less than for the end of 2017 (+15%).
There seems to be an optimism
looking ahead into the year, with
38.44% of the districts that took part in
the survey predicting an increase in the
number of exhibitions, while around
54% predict an increase in exhibitors
and space taken.
The new AEFI Observatory figures
are confirmed through comparison
with the analysis performed by
ISFCERT, the Certification Institute
for Exhibition Industry Statistics,
recognised by ACCREDIA for the
tradefairs certified.
If we compare the trend for the last
two editions of 75 international Italian
exhibitions (57 annual, 14 two-yearly
and 4 three-yearly) - out of the total
94 ISFCERT-certified exhibitions held
in 2018 - it is clear that the number of
visitors is growing together with total
rented space.
Visitors increased by 3.7% in total,
with foreign visitor numbers growing
12.5%.
w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk