Events
Cersaie 2021, ensuring safe participation | by Andrea Serri
The institutions and associations present “Bologna together with Cersaie”, a manifesto for safe participation in the international exhibition at the end of September.
At Cersaie 2021, due to be held in Bologna from 27 September to 1 October, exhibitors and visitors will be welcomed in complete safety by the city and its transport system and exhibition and accommodation facilities and will be able to enjoy the traditional hospitality for which Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region are renowned. This is one of the messages that emerged from the presentation of “Bologna together with Cersaie”, the poster event attended by several hundred journalists and companies from Italy and around the world both in person in Palazzo Re Enzo and via a Zoom link ahead of the 38th edition of the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings.
“Cersaie 2021 represents an opportunity for ceramic and bathroom furnishing companies to consolidate and lend stability to their business recovery. This is confirmed by the fact that the 15 halls in the Bologna Exhibition Centre will be fully occupied by almost 600 Italian and international exhibitors,” said Giovanni Savorani, Chairman of Confindustria Ceramica. “Thanks to Cersaie, our companies will be able to meet in person with distributors and designers from Italy and abroad, showcase their new trend-setting products and discuss future collaborations. This year’s launch of the Contract Hall in Hall 18 opens up new opportunities in the world of real estate, a sector where Italian ceramic tile and bathroom furnishing producers are able and willing to play a leading role at an international level.”
“This year’s Cersaie in Bologna will be more than just a major international event that has long contributed to boosting the global reputation of our exhibition centre and our city,” said Virginio Merola, Mayor of Bologna. “It will be a great opportunity for the city to set an example of how to reopen the economy in safety and to demonstrate how a sense of unity amongst all local stakeholders can make a difference and present a united front to the international public. Exhibitions have been badly hit during the pandemic and the figures for this year’s Cersaie clearly demonstrate the show’s status as a world-class event. We are honoured that the world’s leading companies in this sector will be meeting in the city of Bologna. I would like to thank everyone involved because this exhibition is a great achievement that has been accomplished with professionalism and collaboration for the benefit of a crucial economic sector both for this region and for the country as a whole. We look forward to seeing you!”
“The importance of international exhibitions for the economy of our country and its constituent regions has been further demonstrated during this last year amid the severe global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” noted Gianpiero Calzolari, Chairman of BolognaFiere. “With the resumption of business activities, coupled with the experience and new tools developed during this period, our international events will make an even more effective contribution to the promotion of excellence in Italian manufacturing. We will be collaborating more closely than ever with organisers who choose BolognaFiere as their business partner.”
“Cersaie marks the restart of international trade fairs, the sector that has suffered most from the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, as well as the recovery of the ceramic district, a strategic industry for our region and the country as a whole thanks to the very high level of exports,” said Stefano Bonaccini, President of the Emilia-Romagna regional government. “Thanks to our region’s customary cooperation between all stakeholders, together with the institutions, trade associations and companies operating in the fields of transport and hospitality management, we will show professionals from all over the world that it is possible to hold trade fairs in complete safety. Today we are announcing that we are ready to welcome thousands of professionals and visitors to our region from Italy and abroad and reaffirming the solidity and quality of our trade fair system. We are adopting a well-organised model of strict protocols, checks and good practices in order to guarantee the safety first and foremost of the workers involved in the organisation of these splendid events, of the exhibitors who will showcase the finest Italian-made products, particularly new eco-sustainable materials, and of the press, stakeholders and visitors from all over the world who will take away with them the image of Emilia-Romagna as a region that works collectively to promote the excellence of its products, practices and hospitality.”
The meeting in Palazzo Re Enzo was attended in person by all the representatives of the associations and economic entities that work together to make Cersaie possible.
Valerio Veronesi, Chairman of the Bologna Chamber of Commerce, commented: “With Cersaie, the first major trade fair event to be held in person, we are getting back to business at an international level and in complete safety. Bologna has the capabilities, experience, facilities and organisation to be able to do this, making the event an opportunity to offer the world a model of safe hospitality worthy of being admired and replicated. Visitors can come to Bologna with peace of mind and in complete safety. We have clearly demonstrated this in the past and we will continue to do so.”
“Ever since the onset of the Covid-19 emergency, our company has been deploying the best solutions to ensure passenger safety,” said Enrico Postacchini, Chairman of Bologna’s G. Marconi Airport. “Thanks to these efforts, we were the first airport in Italy and the third in the world to obtain the international ACI Airport Health Accreditation. As the principal gateway to the important exhibitions held in Bologna, we believe that the return of Cersaie as an in-person event sends out a powerful and important message for the recovery of our region.”
“We are delighted to see the resumption of trade fair activities, which are vitally important for our local area and for our accommodation and hospitality facilities. It’s very important for us to restart the calendar of in-person events post-pandemic with such an internationally renowned show as Cersaie,” said Patrizia Bauer, President of the Tourism and Culture Sector of Confindustria Emilia Central Area. “With the help of technological innovations, we can offer services ranging from catering and accommodation to conference services rapidly and in complete safety, offering for example online check-in and check-out. As regards safety, we have urged the competent institutions to include workers in this sector in the vaccination schedule, and most of them are now undergoing the course of vaccinations. Our hotels are therefore ready to welcome exhibitors and visitors in complete safety and in compliance with all protocols, guaranteeing the level of service and hospitality for which our city and its surrounding region are renowned.”
“We need to provide and receive assurances to enable our guests to feel as safe as in their own homes,” stressed Federalberghi Bologna Chairman Celso De Scrilli. “For this reason, while strictly adhering to the industry protocol, our association has produced illustrative materials presenting a series of solutions to be adopted in hotels and offering guests visual guidance to health awareness. In addition to the Safe Hospitality logo, these include a series of communication tools that will serve to remind everyone of the precautions they need to take in order to enjoy a safe stay,” continued the head of the hoteliers’ association.
“Confcommercio Ascom Bologna is delighted to see Cersaie 2021 return to Bologna. The title of the press conference “Bologna together with Cersaie” announcing the 38th International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings to be held from 27 September to 1 October conveys the importance of this international trade fair, which ever since its inception has helped forge strong, long-lasting links between all stakeholders in our region and to raise the profile of the city of Bologna around the world. The presence of 600 exhibitors at the new edition of Cersaie demonstrates the determination on the part of sector companies to get back to business and to continue to achieve important goals in terms of technological innovation and design. The utmost attention has been paid to the implementation of anti-Covid-19 safety standards in visitor reception areas and in the city’s accommodation and leisure facilities,” said Valentino Di Pisa, Vice Chairman of Confcommercio Ascom Bologna.
“In the last year and a half we have worked hard to make Bologna even more organised, accessible, easier to visit and consequently safer,” observed Giovanni Trombetti, Chairman of Bologna Welcome. “One example of this approach is the MyBologna app, which allows visitors to book all the city’s attractions in advance and remotely, chat with us and find out how to navigate the city safely. At the same time we have expanded the city’s offerings with new attractions, dedicated accommodation packages and educational activities. All this has been made possible by the close cooperation between the institutions and the private sector of hoteliers, restaurateurs, shopkeepers, travel agencies and professional guides.”
In compliance with government regulations, admission to Cersaie during the set-up period and on the days the exhibition is open to exhibitors and visitors is subject to presentation of a Green Pass. For the latest information on this topic, please visit the Bologna Together with Cersaie section of the Cersaie website.
July 5, 2021
