Tarsus Mexico held physical exhibitions this quarter, then made the decision to hold off on anymore until March 2021, hoping the spring will bring warmer weather and less COVID-19 cases. The shows that were held had great, enthusiastic exhibitors and visitors – and followed safety protocols to the letter.

Laura Barrera, Group Show Director of Tarsus Mexico is a panelist on the Industry Leaders session at the upcoming UFI Global Congress, Tuesday, November 16th at 9:45am (Bogota, Colombia time). She’s also national vice president of AMPROFEC, the Mexican exhibition industry association.

She’s excited about this year’s all digital UFI Global Congress as it allows so many more people to be a part of this important worldwide event. She said, “It will give more women a voice to share their experiences and learn from a global offering never seen before in our industry. It’s so important to talk about the future of events and share experiences reopening – what we learned and discuss what may happen in the future.”

An enthusiastic participant and planner of the recent AMPROFEC-sponsored New Experience Expos, held in Mexico City, Merida, Monterrey and Tijuana, she believes these “rehearsal expos” were a great way to road test safety protocols and best practices designed by Association members. She added, “Things are tough for everyone right now. It’s the time for all of the industry to work together with our associations to prove we can hold our business events safely.”

After each Expo, a debriefing was held to discuss what can be controlled and what can’t. Audio visual, cleaning and seating protocols worked very well for the conference rooms, as did food and beverage procedures. Laura added, “However, on the exhibit floor we found that one-way aisles and arrows don’t work. The question then became, how do we create enough aisle width to be two-ways?”

All of the learnings have been shared with AMPROFEC members and the government to help expos continue to open all over Mexico. She concluded, “We can’t wait for a vaccine. Unfortunately, we need to learn how to live with the virus, follow the safety rules, wear a mask and move forward.”

See Laura along with other LATAM industry leaders: Arnaldo Nardone, FIEXPO Exhibition Group, Juan Pablo Maglier, Claudio Della Nina, Reed Exhibitions Brazil, Joao Paulo Picolo, NürmbergMesse Brazil at 9:45am Tuesday November 16th (Bogota, Colombia time). To see a video of the New Experience Expo held in Mexico City, click here.