Many of us are, these days, coming back from our annual summer break. In Europe, legislators opened borders, and tourists could travel - like almost pre-pandemic. With airports and airlines claiming 'safety first' - everything should be fine - but I doubt it, to be honest. Jan Majnik and I were traveling in North Italy some weeks ago, and to even believe that safety at all is essential takes just a few minutes in any airport across Europe to realize is a joke.
You may think that social distance is a given, and maybe you can explain what difference it should make to keep the social distance before entering a plane when the plane itself is filled up with people, where most don't give a shit about anything but themselves?
The lineup for security in the Milanese airport, Bergamo, was entirely like being in a Tokyo subway during rush hour, before the pandemic. And with airlines like RyanAir, the so-called low-price carrier apparently attract people that have no behaviors.
And despite high vaccination rates in most European countries, the incident index is almost on level with pre-summer break numbers.
Houston, we have got a problem!
People die with COVID-19, but most don't, and many don't even have symptoms. At the same time, most of us are so sick and tired of the restrictions, the precautions, and the consequences of the pandemic, that we just want it to end - now.
With a too large part of the population not vaccinated - either because they don't want to or can't - concerns. There is still no cure, and with a low immunity rate, the virus can evolve into new variants - causing more lockdowns, more death, and even more difficulties for people and businesses.
We all want to meet, and fortunately, many of us can travel, meet, and even some events have started to open - but still, the large exhibitions are postponed or cancelled. A few, like SuperCorrExpo, recently ran their show in Orlando, and the exhibitors we talked to have quite diverse opinions. From the photos and videos I've seen from the event, the hallways are empty, which resonates with the comments we received.
Around the corner is both PRINTING United and FESPA. PRINTING United also takes place in Orlando, and with a little more than one month to the show, many are in the middle of their planning. We had to cancel our booth at PRINTING United since it's unlikely that the Biden administration will open the US borders to the EU, making it practically impossible to get people to the US. We will, of course, continue to cover PRINTING United and support the event wholeheartedly. But, what everybody asks themselves is, of course, whether visitors will come to Orlando - and, of course, Florida's - in some minds - too liberal COVID-19 policy is a concern.
The questions the industry asks are simple. Will there be any visitors? What is the risk for the staff?
When the outbreak of the COVID-19 began back in March 2020, we asked why drupa didn't cancel. The consequences if an event turns into a super spreader event are severe - and to put this in perspective; The recent European Championships in football became a super spreader event. All visitors had to show a negative COVID test - and despite this, the health authorities afterward discovered more than 2,000 infected people at the stadium (in the final) and caused 3,500 new incidents.
The COVID-19 situation is still not under control in many countries, and the questions run up - why take the chance? Would you personally go?
Though we all want our lives back, we don't want them back at any cost.
FESPA is just one week after PRINTING United in Amsterdam - and of all places in Europe, The Netherlands has relatively strict travel restrictions. Guests need to be sure to have their paperwork in place before even considering going!
The concerns about FESPA are the exact same as for PRINTING United. Will there be any visitors? The risk is probably much lower in the Netherlands as the Netherlands' restrictions are considerably better or worse - depending on your views. But from a health perspective, the risk must be considered lower. That is, of course, good but also a concern since some may decide not to go since it will be more demanding.
INKISH will, of course, ALSO cover FESPA.
There are, of course, more significant issues to discuss - both concerning COVID and the trade shows.
Let's start with the COVID.
The impact of COVID-19 can't be underestimated. Millions of people have died, and the cost for the countries is incredible, but COVID is also a game-changer. The development of numerous vaccines has been developed rapidly, and it shows humans' abilities to adapt and develop solutions that can solve some of the problems. Maybe the collaborative models and innovative ways can inspire us to solve other problems, like climate, cancer, future pandemics, poverty, and more?
However, the pandemic has pushed everybody's mindset. We see innovation like never before, and some of the technologies we used during the pandemic will live in the post-pandemic. Zoom, Teams, Webinars, online training have already changed how we communicate. Though the value of webinars, to some extent, has saturated, new solutions are still delivered to the market with a strong belief in the future of remote learning. And without these solutions, many kids would not have been able to attend school for almost two years - so this is good, by all means!
The pandemic also seems to have pushed the printing industry. Web-to-Print, workflow automation, IoT, digital production, finishing, and enhancements have moved up the investment latter - and it clearly indicates a paradigm change. PSPs are ready for the next pandemic and can serve customers remotely if needed!
Many vendors and PSPs have survived the pandemic and have gotten out stronger than before. This should be a hint to the organizers of the exhibitions. Not that there is no need for shows in the future, but simply that they need to deliver more and better. Why attend a tradeshow with 100,000+ attendees to watch 5-10 exhibitors already working together? When you see Horizon, Hunkeler, CHILI, and more showing end-to-end solutions at their own hosted events, this indicates more than ever that the huge tradeshows have lost an opportunity!
PRINTING United won the American industry with their under-one-roof approach. Still, the world has changed, and now APtech recently announced their Amplify Print in June 2022 with a dedicated focus on the enhancement and value-adding of print. This initiative will attract fewer but most likely more dedicated visitors, and this might be the future of how trade shows could look?
Maybe the revenue models for future tradeshows should focus on 3-5,000 attendees and no more mega shows?
We know of large traditional exhibitors who have said they would never again exhibit at a large tradeshow (I actually think they said any!). When organizers like drupa claim there is a need for drupa - I believe they still have to prove that! From a revenue perspective, it could be challenging to prove. As much as I love browsing through the aisles, still, the Hunkeler Innovationdays, The Smart Factory, and CHILI publisher's SPIZY talks are way more interesting since I have TIME to learn!
So the pandemic has forced almost all of us to rethink everything. Our products, services, prices, execution, deliverables, and so forth let's see how organizers adapt and innovate.
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