Long history,smooth progress

Zhao Wei Celion Su

Reporter： Please introduce the background of Corferias.

Diego： The Bogota International Center for Business and Exhibitions-Corferias is a private organization for the promotion of industrial， social， cultural and commercial development in the Andean region， Central America and the Caribbean. Its principal shareholder is the Bogota Chamber of Commerce， which represents the interests of the corporate sector and of society in general. Now， the association holds 80% of Corferias， while the remaining 20% belong to small businesses and individuals. Corferias now has about 400 employees.

With over 60 years of experience， Corferias seeks to widen cooperation between Colombia and the world community through the organization of fairs， exhibitions， events and conventions， generating important contacts between visitors and exhibitors in facilities operated under international standards. Equally， it promotes and organizes Colombia′s participation in fairs and exhibitions abroad， and participates as a partner in companies that have the same objective of fostering the country′s industrial and commercial development.

We have also won international recognition. Currently， Corferias is the main Latin-American partner of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry （UFI）， founding member of the Latin-American Exhibitions Association （AFIDA）， and member of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events （IAEM）.

Reporter： Please introduce its facilities.

Diego： Corferias was built in 1953， when there were only four pavilions， with a total area of 120，000 square meters. Currently， we plan to build a 64，000 square metre new exhibition hall and the largest conference room in Latin America which can accommodate up to 4，000 people. Near the venue， a 400-room five-star Hilton Hotel is expected to be built and later be opened in February 2019.

Reporter： what is the volume of Corferiass annual exhibition business？

Diego： The exhibition projects in Corferias cover the most potential industrial clusters in Latin America to enhance our competitiveness in these industries. At present， the international organizers of the exhibition include Koelnmesse， Messe Düsseldorf and BolognaFiere. In 2017， Corferias held about 50 exhibitions， 30 of which were selforganized exhibitions and more than 20 were exhibitions held by our clients. In addition， the exhibition center also holds about10 exhibitions in Barranquilla and other cities. Among them， the largest annual exhibition hosted by the venue is the book fair in April， with a total visitors of 500，000， and there is also a consumer goods exhibition that covers the whole exhibition center.

Reporter： What are your plans for presenting exhibitions with other organizers？

Diego： We are interested in selling our shares to international organizers and holding about 50% shares of our own， which means to run the exhibition in the form of joint ventures. In order to attract exhibitors and visitors， Corferias team also travel around the world. At present， we have a better understanding of the exhibition market in Europe and the United States， but we do not know much about the Chinese market yet.

Reporter： What support measures does the local government provide for the exhibition industry？

Diego： The national government basically has no subsidies for the local exhibition industry， but the government sometimes participates in exhibitions. Local governments may give certain subsidies to exhibitors.

Reporter： What plans do you have for international cooperation？

Diego： In the future， we may have more cooperation with the exhibition industry in European countries， through which we can learn from the advanced industry experience in Europe. In terms of its own business development， the most urgent challenge is to expand venues to match the pace of development of the local exhibition industry. From within， stable government and social and economic environment are the best guarantee for the development of the MICE industry！