RAI successfully organises fully digital and interactive international trade fairs and events

The impact of Covid-19 on international fairs and events is great. Especially now there is a great need for international knowledge sharing, networking and doing business. New technology makes it possible to connect exhibitors, visitors and speakers (who are not allowed, can or want to travel) online and interactively. This proved to be very successful during GreenTech Live & Online, the international trade fair for horticultural technology that took place entirely digitally on 20, 21 and 22 October.

In three days, 6,300 horticultural professionals from 140 countries registered, 70 exhibitors took part, 30,000 videos were watched and 53 knowledge sessions with 121 speakers took place during this virtual edition of GreenTech. A total of 3,431 new connections between visitors, exhibitors and speakers were made last week.

Maurits van der Sluis, COO of RAI Amsterdam is proud: "We have been able to bring the right people and the right companies together during a live event for years. We have now also managed to do this during GreenTech Live & Online. Adding an online shell gives us the opportunity to properly map out the needs and behaviour of our visitors and exhibitors: Which parties are looking for each other? What content connects them? And who are our most valuable leads?

Positive sounds
Maren Schoormans, Chief Business Development Officer Viscon Group: "At first glance I am sad about the empty halls. Normally we would have GreenTech here. But thanks to GreenTech Live & Online, this new movement is growing exponentially. This is an excellent start to a new era!
Pieter Vellekoop Sewarage Manager, Westland: "Ironically, during an ordinary 'GreenTech' I was never able to make contact with so many nationalities within fifteen minutes. Thank you for this opportunity".

Van der Sluis continues: "We strengthen our physical events with this online tool, because we expect less travel in the near future. With this online shell we are responding directly to this. In the future, our international events can be visited online as well as physically. This will enable us to tap into a much larger audience".

Upcoming events
In RAI Amsterdam, studios have been built from which a number of international trade fairs will take place virtually in the coming months. From 3 to 6 November it's all about bringing professionals together, innovation and knowledge transfer during Interclean Amsterdam Online. Amsterdam Drone Week takes place in the first week of December (1-3 December). This event consists of an online live stream with keynotes, panel discussions, interviews and various high-quality networking opportunities. METSTRADE Connect is an online event (10 December) of the METSTRADE where the marine sector meets to share knowledge and innovations during various sessions. Moreover, this year the DAME Award and Boat Builder Awards will be presented here.