Interview with Mr Serhan Pul, CEO Bridgexpo Fuarcilik A.S
By: Behnam Ghasemi – Kohan Textile Journal
Please let us know more about Intertex Tunisia, history and success story.
To start with, we will be taking a look into the increase of import-export volumes of Tunisia and the reason what makes Tunisia the most important trade hub of Africa.
The biggest trade volume in the whole of Africa occurs in the countries which is known as “the Maghreb countries”. If the reports of the last 5 year are examined, it is easily seen that the manufacturing and demand volumes are increasing way faster than many countries in the world in every year.
Tunisia has become an attractive market for international companies like us whose priority is being accelerator to the trade volume and which are investing to Tunisia constantly. After observing the market deeply, and reaching out the conclusion that Tunisia has better trade relations with other countries and better work-ethic compared to the other African countries, we have decided to organize Intertex Tunisia.
And we organized the first edition of Intertex Tunisia in 2018; which can be called as a boutique edition, with the participation of international prestigious companies.
Could you please share with us some numbers and figures from last year?
As I stated before, it was a boutique edition that was dedicated mostly for B2B meetings. However, with the deep interest, we came across, we agreed on that we are on the right market with the right industry. This has made our team excited for the upcoming editions.
In the second edition, we have organized the textile exhibition with the biggest volume in Africa with around 300 exhibitors/brands from 16 countries and around 9000 professional visitors.
Why Tunisia market is important for your exhibitors?
If you take a close look into Tunisia, you will see that the Tunisian economy is stronger and more stable than other African countries and its currency is getting stronger in accordance with its rising economy with its business morality. Another important point is that Tunisia has the biggest volume in terms of the export numbers to Europe in the textile industry. Other textile professionals from African countries are also navigating their trade through Tunisia.
For sure exhibitors and visitors health condition is so important for you. Do you have any special plans for safety and health protocols during the exhibition?
We always keep health above anything else in our all organizations and activities and take necessary precautions. For this reason, we will be welcoming all our guests from different countries with the disinfected vehicle at the airport and lead them to the hotels which we have chosen carefully. And the same service will be available between the hotel and the exhibition ground.
Before the entrance, we will be checking all participants’ temperature and oblige the use of a mask. We will be putting the necessary signs inside the hall, indicating the social distance between our exhibitors and visitors. And all our guests can be sure that we will follow all the health conditions and official protocol, given by the health authorities such as area/person ratio.
Do you have any workshop or conference beside the exhibition?
Workshops and conferences are the best areas to observe the latest trends, to exchange information and they are what keep the textile exhibitions dynamic and alive. For this reason, this year due to the pandemic, we will be focusing on more workshops rather than conferences. However, instead of conferences, we will arrange special sessions with FTTH (Tunisian Textile Federation)
What do you think about Virtual and online exhibitions, is it a permanent solution or change the future of the exhibition industry?
We are aware of the fact that online exhibitions will be more popular and effective in the upcoming years. And even we were working on simulations for online exhibitions before the pandemic started. However; personally, I believe that online exhibitions will not provide the same atmosphere and will not be as effective as a real-time exhibition because of not being able to bring people together and interact face to face. Face to face interaction makes the exhibition more beneficial. However; we are working on organizing a concurrent virtual exhibition along with real-time exhibition for the exhibitors who are not able to participate due to pandemic. They will be able to follow up all the process through an online platform we are working on.
About Bridgexpo
Founded in 2005, Bridgexpo is a privately owned and operated exhibition service company that specializes in promoting trade events around the globe. With over a decade of experience in the international exhibition service industry, Bridgexpo builds on integrity, professionalism, and BSM. Our success over the past years has allowed us to establish an extensive and reliable network of sector professionals.
Utilizing this extensive network we have carried out more than 30 exhibitions in various industries, with participants visiting more than 12 countries across the world. We currently sell more than 10,000 square meters of exhibition space each year. We bring together people who want to buy and sell in a specific market, to meet communities for networking, to do business and to get inspiration. Our industry insight, coupled with our innovative and entrepreneurial approach provides the opportunity for business advantage.
Our mission is to be the BRIDGE between the right business communities into the right professional markets via industry-leading exhibitions all around the world. Bridgexpo’s exhibitions enable sector professionals to experience and engage business with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit and help them explore new markets.
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