On December 1, a meeting was held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss support of congress and exhibition activities as a tool to accelerate socio-economic development and increase the investment attractiveness of Russian regions.

The meeting was attended by the President of the Chamber Sergey Katyrin, the Chairman of the Chamber’s  Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities, the General Director of Expocentre AO Alexey Vyalkin and the Director of the Chamber Regional Development Department Ilya Zubkov.

The meeting was chaired by Tatiana Polidi, Chairman of the Commission, Executive Director of the Institute for Urban Economics Foundation.

In his report, Sergey Katyrin dwelled on topical issues of the development of the congress and exhibition industry in Russia, its significance and objectives. According to him, as a result of the stagnation of congress and exhibition activities from 2019 to the present day due to the pandemic, about 70% of companies suffered significant losses, 10% of companies ceased operations, 64% of companies cut jobs.

The activity of the industry literally stopped in 2020, a number of exhibition complexes were reformatted into COVID hospitals, the head of the Chamber  emphasized.

According to the Head of the Сhamber, congress and exhibition activities occupy a special place in the Russian economy. In the current environment, despite the pandemic, this is a unique mechanism that helps in promoting regions, their products and manufacturers in domestic and foreign markets, attracting direct investment, and developing international economic cooperation.

According to industry representatives, the question arose on its actual survival. However, thanks to the common efforts and attention from the state, the activity of organizing exhibitions was recognized by the Government of the Russian Federation as one of the most affected areas of the economy, which determined the extension of a number of support measures to exhibition organizers and allowed them to “stay afloat”, but, unfortunately, we must admit, not everyone, said Sergey Katyrin.

At the same time, the underdevelopment of specialized infrastructure in the regions remains the most important factor limiting the development of the industry. There are some successful examples of the implementation of investment projects, the experience of which can be used.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of regional convention and exhibition centers - since 2010, 12 new venues with a total exhibition area of ​​about 300 thousand m2 have been commissioned in Russia. And although the provision of the regions with specialized areas is insufficient, but for obvious reasons, one should not expect a sharp increase in the construction of new exhibition complexes in the near future, in the next five years the growth of indoor exhibition areas will reach 7-10%, the head of the Chamber noted.

There are some successful examples of the implementation of investment projects/ For example, the Investment Council of the Republic of Tatarstan has allocated a new land plot with an area of ​​3 hectares for the construction of a new complex "Expo-Kama" in Naberezhnye Chelny. In Samara, a project is being considered for the construction of a congress hall with an area of ​​over 37,000 sq. M.

Sergey Katyrin urged the Commission to support the initiatives of the Chamber and the exhibition community for the early adoption of the Strategy for the Development of Exhibition and Congress Activities until 2030 and the Federal Law "On Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities", which will serve to further develop the industry and systematize core processes.

After a short discussion, the results of the meeting were summed up by the moderator, who announced new meetings and the preparation of the Commission's work plans for 2022.

Press Service of the Chamber