The Indian Exhibitions Industry Association (IEIA) has released a statement calling for the ‘unlocking’ of exhibitions for the survival of the industry and the revival of the national economy.
The association urged the Government of India to restart exhibitions for unlocking economic growth, and said the industry was ready with SOP (standard operating procedure) guidelines to start safe and secure tradeshows.
The IEIA addressed its call to national Government and also the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“Covid-19 has adversely impacted the business exhibitions sector across India, with a complete standstill since March 2020 continuing to date. The Indian exhibition sector, which is an important building block for development of trade and economy, plays a vital role to support many industry sectors with two-thirds of exhibitions held annually being in the B2B segment. They are highly organised and structured in terms of movement of people and goods. The global pandemic has adversely affected the exhibition industry and its economic impact on the country’s trade,” said IEIA president Mr Balasubramanian.
“Approximately Rs.300,000 crore of business and related trade has been affected due to non-holding of exhibitions in India this year, with about 15 lakh estimated livelihoods affected who depend on exhibitions for their sustenance. Approximately 1.5 crore people participate in exhibitions every year in India for their business needs.” There have also been huge mass lay-offs and no orders for the contractual service providers as well as a loss of livelihood for temporary ground staff, Balasubramanian noted.
The Indian exhibition industry had been growing at 10% year on year during the pre-Covid period and the impact of the pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge.
“We are making a clarion call to the Government to extend a supporting hand to this industry so that exhibitions can come back soon and start supporting various businesses,” Balasubramanian said.
Delhi-based India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), at Pragati Maidan complex, has witnessed cancellations of 26 exhibitions from April 2020 to August 2020. HITEX in Hyderabad, a public-private partnership venture of the Government of Telangana, hosts an average of 100 small to medium size exhibitions and events every year. This year, so far, 40 of the HITEX expos and events have been cancelled due to Covid-19.
Balasubramanian gave the example of one major exhibition cancellation being the 49th edition of the Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (IHGF) in Delhi. It had been scheduled in April 2020 and its cancellation, according to the IEIA, has seriously affected the livelihoods of two million craft workers.
Balasubramanian underlined in his IEIA message to Government that exhibitions are important marketing and business support mediums for the millions of artisans and small business players in the handicrafts sector.
India’s Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) had initiated virtual fairs to help exporters transact business with buyers of the handicrafts sector from across the globe. Exhibitors are saying the physical format of exhibitions are irreplaceable “and are the only effective platforms for furthering our business”, said Rakesh Kumar, director general, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) the main organiser of IHGF.
"IEIA has already prepared SOP to organise safe and secure exhibitions in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and the same have been submitted to Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Commerce,” Balasubramanian said, adding: “As exhibitions require a gestation period of 6-8 weeks to organise, it is vital for the Government announce a date by when exhibitions can be restarted in a safe and sound environment. The human density for B2B exhibitions are not much different from a shopping mall or a railway/bus station and we can be ready to organise shows once we get the necessary approvals.”
While the exhibition sector was excluded in the list of sectors allowed by the Government’s Unlock 3.0 plan phase, the Indian exhibition industry is appealing and hopes to see exhibitions included in the Unlock 4.0 phase.
