#GED2022, Trade fairs – the top allies for Made in Italy
Trade fairs multiply business: companies who rely on them to promote their business and products grow by almost 13% more than their competitors. This emerges from the Prometeia survey by AEFI (Italian Exhibitions and Trade Fair Association), presented today in Rome on the occasion of the 7th Global Exhibition Day organized by UFI– the World Exhibition Industry Association.
The research study involved a sample of 25,000 Italian companies which, between 2012 and 2019, relied on the national exhibition system: these companies saw an increase in sales of 12.6%, with an additional 0.7% on gross margin (Ebitda), compared to companies which decided not to invest in attendance at exhibitions.
The analysis also compares the performance of companies in various production chains. The overview that emerges is that the agro-food sector – supported by Veronafiere through Vinitaly, Fieragricola and Sol&Agrifood, benefits most ‘ in terms of extra growth (+20.5%). Sectors producing intermediate goods also perform well, posting above-average benefits (+14.4%), in this case through trade fairs such as Marmomac and Samoter, again organized in Verona.
The Italian trade fair industry ranks fourth in the world and second in Europe, after Germany; it achieve a value of production of 1.4 billion euros, with 3,700 direct employees, 200 international and 220 national events organized every year which attract 12.6 million visitors.
This sector generates allied business in local areas – such as services, transport, hospitality and wages – amounting to around 22.5 billion euros per year in production, for added value estimated at 10.6 billion euros, equal to 0.7% of GDP.
Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere
Trade fairs consequently operate at a multiplication factor of 2.4 for every euro of added value generated directly by exhibitors, organizers and visitors, as well as 1.4 for the national economy as a whole. And as regards employment, the impact is only slightly lower, with each direct job in the system supporting another 1.1 nationwide.
“Trade fairs confirm their status as an essential tool in industrial policy for restarting of national economies and local areas,” said Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere. “Veronafiere was the first Italian exhibition centre to reopen safely in June 2021 after a 15-month Covid lockdown. Since then, we have made strenuous efforts to reconnect communities and markets in the industrial supply chains we represent, with the aim of rebuilding the value chain interrupted by the pandemic as soon as possible. Consolidation, growth, innovation and updating are the guidelines for our operations in this stage.”