Tomáš Moravec, a graduate of the Brno University of Technology, has been connected with the exhibition industry and Brno trade fairs all his professional life. He is also Vice-President of the Association of Exhibition Companies. He became General Director of the Brno Trade Fairs in December 2021, when trade fairs had to deal with unexpected challenges.
The Exhibition Centre has finally opened its doors, and the trade fair industry is once again gaining momentum. Do your exhibitors remain loyal to you?
Yes, especially the exhibitors who have benefi ted from participation in the fair for a long time and are able to use this form of presentation and evaluate it — they remain loyal to us. Many of them were eagerly awaiting the possibility of a personal presentation after almost two years of limiting the basic human need, i.e. personal contact. Of course, there are also new exhibitors who are testing their products and looking for new business contacts and sales channels by participating in the fair.
You have conducted several surveys among exhibitors. What is the place of trade fairs in the business and marketing strategy of companies nowadays?
We have already conducted surveys among exhibitors in the COVID-19 period, i.e. in 2020 and 2021, because of the need to ensure that there will be interest in trade fairs in the future. And we were assured of this by exhibitors of most of the sectors represented in the BVV fair calendar. A recent survey carried out at the Silva Regina and Biomass 2022 trade fairs, which this year were held without the range of the key Techagro trade fair, confirmed that even if the overall scope of the trade fairs is significantly reduced, the attendance can be evaluated more positively in terms of quality than it was with a larger scale at the previous edition. In addition, 53% of respondents ranked the fair as one of the three most effective marketing tools used, and 93% of respondents expressed their intention to attend the next edition of the fair. This, of course, pleases us and reassures us of the meaningfulness and long-term sustainability of trade fairs. The fact that trade fairs in the foreseeable future will certainly not reach the quantitative parameters of the number of exhibitors, visitors and rented square metres that we were used to until 2019 should be taken into account. The focus should be on the qualitative parameters of their contribution.
The management community is demanding. How do they rate their satisfaction with the preparation and conduct of trade fairs?
A global restart of trade fairs is currently underway at a time when conditions are highly unstable. The consequences of the COVID-19 period, changes in global logistics chains, and the enormous increases in energy and material prices caused by the war in Ukraine are making it challenging to stabilise again. They are affecting almost all areas of human activity. The unstable environment is not suitable for trade fairs because of the need for long-term preparation and planning. Nowadays, the risk of cancellation of any trade fair exists, and organisers and exhibitors choose their dates and the level of commitment to participate in them.
The International Engineering Fair has always been crucial for Czech industry. What can we expect from this year’s edition?
We are working on preparations so that the 63rd International Engineering Fair will once again showcase Czech industry with a representation of foreign exhibitors. Traditional exhibitors have already registered, and exhibitors who missed the 2021 edition, which was atypically held in November, are also interested in participating. We are returning to the now traditional October date this year but with a shortened four-day run. By shortening the course to four days and opening day on Tuesday, we intend to meet the needs of exhibitors to increase time efficiency and yield of time spent at the fair. The fair partner is the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which, with its large number of participating companies, symbolically follows the assumption of the EU Presidency by the Czech Republic after France in the second half of 2022. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also confirmed its participation, representing the collective exhibition of state institutions.
The flagship projects of the fair include the Digital Factory and Industry 4.0 projects. This year, the fair is strengthened in scope by the Welding, Fond-ex, Plastex and Profintech fairs. The 3D printing sector is also signifi cantly represented.
The trade fair complex is an architectural sign of its time. What are your plans for its further development in cooperation with the city of Brno?
The BVV exhibition grounds are a heritage that we have received from our ancestors, and we take care of it; at the same time, it is our production tool. It is an architecturally valuable area that should also fulfil its essential role in the conditions of the new era with different needs of exhibitors. We run a trade fair complex, not an open-air museum. Thus, where there is a decrease in the intensity of use of some halls or parts of the complex, we consider its transformation to another purpose. We are preparing to separate the zone in the northern part of the area from the BVV area. The buildings in the part along Hlinky Street are owned by externalentities, and the allocation will facilitate the accessibility of these buildings for the owners. The historic part of the site around Hall A is offered to the public all year round.
In contrast, the western part — the new trade fair area with halls P, V, F and G1/2, including Hall Z — is a good basis for the long-term sustainability of our trade fair projects and guest events. I consider developing a smaller exhibition area equipped with modern technologies with potential space for other facilities to be a step in the right direction.
Thank you for the interview.
