Trade fairs and events: Now finally let go of the economy

The exhibition and congress organizers and the affected economic sectors were the first and most severely affected by the measures imposed by the Federal Council. De facto, the exhibition industry has had an occupational ban for an indefinite period since February 28, 2020. Switzerland has around 220 trade fairs each year with a total of around 5.4 million visitors. The direct added value of the exhibition industry amounts to around 770 million Swiss francs, and the overall economic effects through chain reactions are likely to range between 3.5 and 6 billion for the exhibition industry and the companies using it. Added to this are the transactions conducted between exhibitors and buyers.

Eugen Brunner, President of Expo Event

The Federal Council has reacted decisively to the coronavirus pandemic and with comprehensive measures. The association and the exhibition venues of Switzerland support this action very much, because health and safety for exhibitors, visitors, partners and employees have top priority for Expo Event.

The Expo Event industry association is now calling for a gradual reopening of trade fair and congress events under clearly defined conditions. The developed catalog of measures shows how the holding of trade fairs and the associated economic stimulating effect can be designed under clearly defined conditions. The urgency of the request is based on the following justifications (quote Expo Event Swiss Live Com Association):

"1. differentiation of trade fairs and congresses from other major events on the basis of their economic significance: trade fairs and congresses are information and networking platforms, sales channels as well as innovation hubs and stand for trust-building personal contact. Visitors can be accredited at trade fairs and congresses and visitor flows can be controlled and managed. Especially for small and medium-sized companies it is of utmost importance to be able to use the highly efficient instrument of trade fairs also in the future. In addition, trade fairs are an effective and particularly fast means of supporting economic recovery after difficult economic times.

2. implementation and compliance with specific security standards is given at trade fairs: The infrastructural and organizational conditions of trade fairs at our exhibition sites can fully ensure the required distance requirement and the traceability of contacts. The catalog of measures that we have jointly developed and presented is suitable for ensuring that trade fairs can be held safely from August 2020, in compliance with the distance and protection measures specified by the FOPH. In this context, the approvability of trade fairs should not depend on an absolute number of visitors, but on an area key per visitor and other spatial conditions and protective measures explained in the annex."

In view of the absolutely necessary restart perspective of the entire trade fair ecosystem in the most diverse economic sectors, Expo Event urgently requests the Federal Council to ensure planning security by introducing standards and regulations for the controlled implementation of trade fairs from August 2020.