Now that the organization of fairs has been postponed all over Europe or existing fairs are still being canceled, it remains a mystery why the organization of Taxi Expo wants to stick to the continuation of Taxi and OV Expo in the exhibition halls in Houten on Thursday 8 October. According to Manoek Rietbroek, project manager Taxi Expo, the fair can take place in a safe and responsible manner despite all restrictive measures.
“We think it is important to bring the industry together. Especially in times like these, it is important that people can meet each other. We think we can certainly do that, ”said Rietbroek in an explanation of this subject.
There is no certainty this year about the number of visitors compared to other years. The organization of all ancillary activities by exhibitors and regular suppliers is also an uncertain factor this year, because nobody knows where they stand, let alone that heavy investments are currently being made in the middle of this turbulent period in which the sector is still in full swing.
Walk and Talk
A digital health check must precede making the exhibition ticket available to the visitor. In this, the organization expects people to answer honestly whether or not they feel well. The fair organization has the 'Walk and talk'principle conceived with two colors. The anthracite 'TALK 'zone and the green' WALK 'zone. On the exhibition floor, zones will be set up with walkways, which, according to the organizers, can guarantee one and a half meters because visitors can only walk one side without oncoming traffic.
The visitor himself must choose a time slot in advance when he wants to visit the fair. To avoid getting busy, choose one of the two shifts. There is no question of networking on the exhibition floor after the day has ended. This year only 50 attendees can attend the conference at the same time and the parallel sessions will not take place. The chairs are a meter and a half apart and everything will be disinfected.
exhibitors less enthusiastic
The exhibitors were not taken into account at all this year. Those who had already registered for the corona outbreak and still wanted to cancel given the changed circumstances were told that cancellation was not an option as the terms and conditions would be enforced and the cancellation fee would take effect. There was no question of any flexibility.
It is equally unimportant for the organizers that the fair will in no way become what was offered to the exhibitors when selling the exhibition stand. And we notice this in the number of exhibitors this year signed up. At the moment only 15 exhibitors for Taxi Expo and 23 exhibitors for OV Expo have been announced who are present as exhibitors. It remains to be seen whether the latter is definitely the case. Nevertheless, the organization continues to advertise on the website with figures that Taxi Expo 2020 & OV Expo 2020 is good for 75 exhibitors and 1.500+ visitors.
Exhibitors also have little or no choice in terms of their own marketing, as it remains uncertain whether the day will continue. Suppose the stock market cannot go ahead because there are changing measures if the organization still wants to move to the end of the year. If this is not possible, the organization will shift the stock exchange to 2021.
In any case, the shockingly high rates for exhibitors have remained the same this year despite the adapted form, which will not do the organization any good for the future. In addition, other digital forms are being prepared for organizing such events, which we will learn more about in the autumn.
Also read: Fairs and congresses were hit hard by the corona crisis
