Undersecretary Manlio Di Stefano spoke today at the opening of the webinar “The future of trade fairs” organized by the ICE Agency within the cycle of events dedicated to the support of Made in Italy.
“The trade fair sector makes a decisive contribution to national GDP,” said Di Stefano, “not only in terms of turnover but also in its strategic function as a tool at the service of industrial policy and as a showcase for the presentation of the excellence of Made in Italy in the world. Precisely for this reason, the exhibition system is one of the six pillars on which the Export Pact presented last June 8th at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is based, alongside with communication, training/information, e-commerce, integrated promotion and facilitated finance”.
“In addition to the extraordinary communication campaign currently being defined, which will be aimed at relaunching the Brand Italia, we are working and have already given a great contribution to the trade fair sector; from Italian Trade Agency (ICE) refreshments for trade fairs cancelled during spring 2020, to the sector’s autumn mini-fairs, the free ICE module for 2021 trade fairs, the attraction of buyers and VIP influencers, the activation of a digital system for B2B sector meetings. I would like to remind you that Simest’s revolving fund (according to law n. 394/81) allows financing also the participation of Italian companies in international fairs”.
“We are well aware that it is necessary not to lower our guard; for this reason, we will continue to put in place adequate tools to support the exhibition system, both in this delicate phase of coexistence with the virus and in a fully post-COVID era, which we hope will come as soon as possible,” concluded Undersecretary Di Stefano.
