ITALIAN TRADE FAIRS: PASSPORT TO THE WORLD
Today, in order to present the particular qualities of the Italian Trade Fair System, AEFI gathered the foreign diplomatic representations in Italy together at the office of the Foreign Press Association in Rome. In the course of the meeting, organised to generate interest in the delegations that will arrive in Italy during the Universal Exposition in visiting our country’s various trade fairs, the leadership of AEFI illustrated the offer of the members.
The Italian trade fair sector, which with its 1,000 exhibitions is capable of engaging approximately 22 million visitors each year, was illustrated with contributions from Benedetto Della Vedova, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Pietro Piccinetti, Coordinator of the AEFI Internationalisation Commission and Loredana Sarti, Secretary General of the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association, who highlighted how the sector represents an efficient and strategic lever to support the growth of our businesses, capable of countering constant market slowdowns.
It must not be forgotten that approximately 50% of Italian export is generated from contacts made during trade fairs and that the turnover achieved every year during exhibitions amounts to 60 billion euros. Important figures from a sector which must be supported.
“An unavoidable choice and opportunity that must be taken today is internationalisation,” stressed Pietro Piccinetti, Coordinator of the AEFI Internationalisation Commission. “In a completely altered international scenario, opening to foreign countries is a challenge that can’t be put off any longer. To be competitive in a global market, a different cultural approach is required: internationalisation means expanding your horizons, opening your mind to the world. This is the starting point for engaging a strategic lever for the entire Italian System, not merely to increase exports, but to identify winning alliances with foreign operators and thereby communicate the authentic culture of Italian excellence. An ambitious challenge in which Trade Fairs and Exhibitions play a crucial role.”
The Association promotes and develops many initiatives, always with a view to strengthening the capability of the whole sector. Among these is the certification of figures from fairs to demonstrate the objective value of the Italian trade fair offer. A project that could be undertaken thanks to the support of the Italian Ministry for Economic Development. An innovation that places our country at the highest level of rigour and reliability among existing international systems.
Road to Expo 2015 also proved a great satisfaction. This project by AEFI and ICE Agency, again promoted by the Ministry for Economic Development, worked to promote the Italian agri-food industrial system. “It was a genuine journey to Expo 2015 through the main exhibitions of the agri-food chain in Italy,” emphasised Loredana Sarti, Secretary General of AEFI. “The intensive programme of invitation initiatives brought more than 300 new operators to the trade fairs involved in the project and offered operators the possibility of extending their network of relationships and initiating new businesses.” Road to Expo 2015 also went abroad, stopping at some of the world’s most important exhibitions in the sector, with a particular focus on key markets such as Germany, France, the USA, Japan, Russia, China, the Arab Emirates and North Africa.
“To return to stable, lasting growth,” commented Benedetto Della Vedova, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, “Italy has to be capable of seizing the opportunities offered by global markets, above all in the more dynamic areas of the world. We’ve reached a stage where ‘internationalisation’ isn’t just another way of saying ‘exports’: to maintain a presence in distant, complex markets takes more than a shipping agent. It requires a local presence which is ever more solid and structured. That’s why today it’s crucial that trade fairs increasingly move beyond a basic concept of display areas and towards a position as partners and business consultants for companies, able to accompany them in the definition of strategies and to provide them with concrete support in overseeing strategic international markets. From this point of view,” concluded Della Vedova, “the Italian trade fair sector is proving itself up to the challenge. We all need to work together – both public and private institutions – to ensure that it’s always at the cutting edge of quality and innovation.”
Finally, the presentation reminded attendants that Italian trade fairs are an important driver for tourism as well. In addition to taking place in cities of great historic and artistic interest, some are hosted in complexes of great architectural value – such as the Venice, Naples and Florence exhibition districts – thus completing the touristic offer and playing on the connection between culture, business and local excellence.