Fira Barcelona has signed up for Global Exhibitions Day, an initiative of the UFI (Global Association of the Exhibition Industry), the collective of trade fair operators from around the world which this year is seeking to highlight the key role to be played by trade fairs in the post-COVID-19 recovery. This commemoration coincides with Fira Barcelona’s return to physical activity as an economic and social driving force in the region.
Every year, within the context of normality prior to COVID-19, 32,000 trade fairs were held around the world, bringing together 4.8 million exhibiting companies and 353 million visitors. The global trade fair industry is estimated to have an annual economic impact totalling 299 billion euros while generating 3.4 million direct and indirect jobs, according to a report drawn up by Oxford Economics for the UFI.
“trade fairs will be key to the reactivation in the post-COVID-19 period”
According to Constantí Serrallonga, general manager of Fira Barcelona, “trade fairs will be key to the reactivation in the post-COVID-19 period because of the impact they have on the territory and because they constitute one of the best platforms for reconnecting businesses and promoting physical networking, with all the safety measures in place. Fira is resuming its physical activity complemented by digital proposals to make it, now more than ever before, an economic and social driving force”.
The trade fair activity at the Montjuïc and Gran Via venues will kick off with Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the most important event in the world for the audiovisual industry, which is being held for the first time in Barcelona in a style suited to the current circumstances, from 1 to 2 June in a physical and online version. This will be one of the major technological events this summer, along with the forthcoming MWC Barcelona from 28 June to 1 July, which will once again coincide with 4YFN.
It will be followed by the Only Tattoo Expo, B-Travel, Affiliate World Europe, eShow, BforPlanet and Automobile Barcelona shows. The period from September until the end of the year is due to witness events such as Expoquimia, Eurosurfas and Equiplast, Bizbarcelona, El Saló de l’Ocupació, Gastronomic Forum Barcelona, Salón Náutico, Caravaning, Hispack, Alimentaria Foodtech, Smart City Expo World Congress, Piscina and BBConstrumat.
Within the context of its full trade fair activity, the institution generates an annual economic impact of 4,710 million euros, with a Gross Added Value (GAV) equivalent to 1% of the Catalan GDP, 35,000 jobs and 971 million euros of tax revenue, according to a study conducted by the Barcelona Institute of Economics (IEB) of the University of Barcelona (UB).
