Magazine: Everything is possible

According to Szilvia Máté, managing director of BD-Expo Kft. (the representative of several major international trade fairs in Hungary) the significance of large international trade exhibitions increased further in the last year. The best thing companies that wish to enter international markets can do is participate in one of these, because the catalogues of these events work like the ‘Yellow Pages’ in the industry for a one-year period. Márton Szebeni, the head of exhibition organising at Hungarian Tourism Zrt.’s Agricultural Marketing Directorate thinks the market is saturated. In his view there are few new trade shows and the existing ones are unable to break into the elite of global trade fairs. These days when companies can easily get in touch with one another in the digital world it is very important for them to be able to meet in the real world too. International trade shows are the perfect occasions for this – this is the reason why their value is growing. New trade fairs can only be launched in the niche segments of large markets. Csaba Siklósi, managing director of Lagardère Unlimited Stadium Solutions Kft. (the company operating Groupama Aréna) is of the opinion that not the usual venues are the most sought-after any more, as demand is increasing for creative and unusual event locations. Groupama Aréna meets these criteria: in the last 15 months it hosted more than 205 events. The stadium not only looks good but it is also easy and comfortable to use for such purposes. Companies often add extras to the programme they bring here such as the guided tour around the stadium, suit-clad football or a motivational speech in the dressing room. László Kovács, owner of La Fiesta Party Service told our magazine that the period of economic recession changed the face of events where there is catering service very much. After the introduction of the representation expenses tax company spending slumped by 70 percent in this field. One thing remained the same, though: participants want to have a good time, eating and drinking well. Rudolf Semsei, owner of Budapest Party Service thinks that every event tells its own story and the level of catering has a great influence on its success. His experience is that it is very difficult to earn the trust of partners as the ‘product’ can’t really be tested in advance. Reliable, high-quality service can help to establish long-term relationships with companies. The first impression is very important in such relationships, together with making a professional offer quickly. Yes, the price of the service is very important too, but partners also like it if they can chose from a large selection of courses. Mr Kovács revealed that culinary trends come and go in the catering trade as well, but in the long run only those elements stay in the portfolio that are functional. For instance at the moment the bistro style is in fashion – tablecloth and other textiles have disappeared from tables. Mr Semsei said that this year the most popular elements were artisan products, food and drink made from Hungarian ingredients the traditional way. At company events food that is served in portions prevails, it is rather trendy to serve many types of dishes in a small, so-called tasting quantity.