COVID-19 and the exhibition business of Russia: who suffered the most?
The rapid spread of a new coronavirus infection, unfortunately, has not spared Russia. The closure of mass events, including planned exhibitions, led to huge losses, which were forcibly incurred by the developers of the stands.
Ivan Nikolsky, Managing partner of the EXPONIC exhibition marketing agency, expressed his opinion on this issue in a live broadcast of a news release on the RBC TV channel.
The dialogue was preceded by the cancellation of all mass events. The corresponding decree was published by the Moscow Mayor's Office the day before. During the conversation, Ivan Alexandrovich noted that there is still no clear understanding of the Mayor's office's order, since officials, for example, allowed the Intourmarket exhibition to be held at the Expocenter.
As for the general situation, Ivan Alexandrovich said that "the biggest losses due to the cancellation of exhibitions will be incurred by developers. Companies engaged in the manufacture of stands have already purchased a large number of building materials that were to be used for construction. There is no one to reimburse at least part of their cost, since developers themselves should be responsible for these agreements and risks, according to the statement of the Ministry of Economy of the Russian Federation."
According to general estimates, 35 organizations from the Union of Exhibition Developers will suffer total losses of 10 billion rubles.
