Hotel and Catering Trade Equipment Week,
Hotel and Catering Trade Equipment Week,
The commercial success of the first joint edition in May 2001 (22,251 visitors at HOREQ and 27,907 at SAL, and a total of 1,222 companies), as well as the high levels of satisfaction expressed by the majority of the professionals participating at the fairs, promise some excellent results for this edition of the fair.
Feria de Madrid will present a very different appearance to the visitors at the last edition who attend the edition next year: two new halls, offering 21,600 square metres of exhibition space each; 6,000 new parking spaces that make up a total provision of 12,000 spaces; the new North Gate complex and its Convention Centre, specially designed to cater for all kinds of meetings, as well as improvements in the access routes. All these new features make up one of the most modern fairgrounds in Europe.
To these improvements we must add the information and pre-accreditation facilities at the IFEMA stand that has been set up at the nearby Barajas International Airport. The airport is connected to the centre of the capital by a 12-minute journey on a modern Underground line, stopping at the fairground on the way.
Furthermore, SAL and HOREQ form part of a leading trade fair institution in Spain and one of the leading organizations in Europe. In this respect, we might recall that Feria de Madrid will end the year 2002 with a revenue figure of 132.72 million euros, almost 30 per cent more than the previous year, thanks to its 71 fairs and a forecast figure for occupied exhibition space of 1.1 million net square metres, not to mention 18,000 direct exhibitors and 4 million visitors. The forecasts for the year 2003 are equally optimistic: a revenue figure of 130.37 million euros, featuring growth of over 27 per cent with respect to the year 2001, the year with which it may be compared due to the lower number of fairs, that is to say, the biennial events.
IFEMA, having earned its position as the leading trade fair institution in Spain, now wishes to improve its ranking in the world by promoting its fairs, many of which enjoy considerable prestige abroad. In this respect, it is undertaking a campaign to strengthen its impact abroad, and this process involves SAL and HOREQ, in view of their clear international vocation.
Thus, Feria de Madrid will soon incorporate new offices in Miami, Mexico and Brazil into its network of 36 delegations abroad (8 run by IFEMA itself). Other planned measures include a more intensive promotional campaign in the international press, the issuing of an increased number of invitations to buyers from other countries, as well as the establishment of agreements with other trade fair organizations and bodies whose purpose is to promote foreign trade.
For their part, the organizers of Food Week and Hotel and Catering Trade Equipment Week will be present at the leading international forums for this industry in order to promote the event.
A Strong Industry
By taking advantage of the synergy between the two fairs, this event will be a highly favourable forum for Canal HORECA. What is more, the timing is particularly propitious, if we take into account the figures for the industry. Investment in improving infrastructures, modernizing hotel facilities, acquiring equipment and preparing new projects is estimated to be at around 30 thousand million euros in the year 2002. This is a sector in which computer management programmes, architecture, decoration, environmental management and energy efficiency are playing an increasingly important role. All of these aspects will be reflected in the innovative exhibition presented at SAL-HOREQ.
In the year 2003, the modern catering sector, that features some 3,400 establishments, will present a turnover of 1,878 million euros, which represents an increase of 9.2 per cent with respect to the present year. HOREQ is aimed at 44,544 catering companies – 14,229 in the hotel trade. These figures include 54 per cent restaurants and 46 per cent cafeterias and bars. Furthermore, the range of visitors who attend the fair include the 236,375 hotel and catering establishments that currently exist.
As far as food and drink is concerned, this sector witnessed a turnover of 16.5 million euros in the year 2001, of which 25 per cent corresponded to the hotel and catering trade. Total expenditure on food in Spain in the year 2001 came to 64.44 million euros, 8.3 per cent more than the previous year. Furthermore, Spaniards spend more on these products than any other nation in the European Union, specifically 30 per cent of their budget, compared to the EU average of 22 per cent.
All of these aspects and the excellent results achieved at the first edition of SAL- HOREQ have led to this new edition of the fair, an event that is undoubtedly consolidating its prestige among professionals from the industry.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
