Wednesday June 10 there will be a meeting with the minister about the opening of events. The sector emphasizes that they are experts in the field of visitor flows and can guarantee the safety of visitors like no other. Trade fairs are organized in large, well-ventilated halls, where visits are maximized and spread out. For example, trade fairs are much more comparable to IKEA, Gamma or a garden center, and they are allowed to open.

“One thing we must have said, many Dutch people are afraid of a second wave of the corona virus in October. And we have to prevent that at all costs.

Entrepreneurs ask Prime Minister Rutte to make a distinction. The Cabinet is combining all events. This lack of distinction between festivals and trade fairs immediately puts 61.000 jobs and 4,4 billion euros in turnover at stake. At the beginning of May, the trade events sector submitted a protocol with additional measures on top of the RIVM guidelines.

“Trade fairs are incomparable to dance parties, concerts and festivals,” says Peter Groot, initiator of 'Veilig naar de Vakbeurs' and the safety protocol for trade fairs.

Taxi Expo 2020

Within national mobility there are now many national and  Union  events and trade shows canceled or postponed until next year. Taxi Expo is the annual trade event for everyone who works in the taxi industry and the coach sector. The organization indicates that this year Taxi Expo 2020 will take place on Thursday October 8, 2020 in Expo Houten. It has not yet been decided whether the fair can continue in its current form and whether the new form will still appeal to exhibitors.

Last Monday, the organizers wanted to organize an online webinar about Taxi Expo 2020 for existing exhibitors and for exhibitors who still want to register. Without prior notice, exhibitors were told afterwards that shortly afterwards they decided to postpone the webinar a bit so that they would have a little more signatures from Mercedes-Benz and FAW Group and the organization had an even better view of the measures to be taken. Due to lack of clarity, it is no longer possible for many exhibitors to organize everything on time. 

industry protocol

According to Peter Groot, the Cabinet can no longer postpone a decision, 

"Because on the one hand we have drawn up a protocol with the sector whereby we can guarantee safety and, on the other hand, because it is no longer possible to explain why amusement parks, hardware stores and airplanes can open, but we cannot," says Peter Groot. 

Trade fairs need months of preparation time, and in order to make something of the autumn, they would rather answer today than tomorrow. The sector as a whole is urging this week with the campaign #laatonszakendoen to clarify before 1 July.

Also read: hastag support your locals also applies to taxi drivers in your city