merly a senior manager at Reed took a light hearted look at the easiest most difficult worst and best things about business in Lat in America and how foreigners generally have false expectations Giberti described how it is often assumed that entering this huge emerging and profitable region will be easy Closely linked to this is the belief peo ple often have at the outset that it is possible to simply export existing trade fairs The friendly welcome extended by the region s people also contributes to the sense of opti mism But there comes a point after the ini tial euphoria when foreign business people find themselves faced with the reality of the situation It is difficult for example to oper ate as a local company and compete with lo cal event organisers There are often prob lems in understanding the local culture and putting a team together Giberti joked of love stories and horror stories involving local and foreign partners And he didn t shy away from the worst things either Foreigners have big problems with many Latin Americans understanding of punctuality as well as with how they handle taxes and employment legislation and conduct business The question as to the point of the whole venture often seems to come up Why am I doing this to myself But foreign event organisers do of course have great experiences as well as Giberti went on to explain These include the feeling you get when you help people to develop their business their companies and their in dustries There are also enjoyable moments when you see how your own team has de veloped or realise you are participating in a region s dynamic development And it s nice when you see that you have come to be viewed by the local community as a trusted long term partner Ultimately anyone want ing to break into the Latin American trade fair business needs a long term vision pa tience stamina flexibility and adaptability and to avoid coming across as a know all Former UFI president Jochen Witt out lined the Latin American trade fair market in figures in Bogota He showed that the strength of the economy and the number of events held go hand in hand Brazil and Mex ico thus account for almost two thirds of Lat in American GDP And they also host around 65 percent of the trade fairs of note Witt found that a total of 1 219 B2B and B2C events had been held at venues of at least 5 000 square metres He based this on figures from the Latin American trade fair association Afida AUMA and websites of organisers and venue operators Some way behind Brazil with a share of 36 percent and Mexico 29 percent came Argentina and Columbia Each of these two countries hosted 9 percent of the trade fairs held in Latin American The largest city in the country is often the most important one for trade fairs So while in Brazil the trade fair business is con centrated around the business metropolis of Sao Paulo in Argentina the capital is the trade fair hub According to the German trade fair association AUMA all industries except for one are covered in Buenos Aires The exception is the agricultural fair Expo agro which takes place in the open air in dif ferent locations Around 40 trade fairs a year are held at the capital s two large venues AUMA rates around 25 of these as being rel evant to foreign exhibitors These events cov er the country s most important industries Messe Frankfurt confirms that the number of trade fairs is relatively small The company s subsidiary Messe Frankfurt Argentina is based in Rio de la Plata According to Messe Frankfurt it is not difficult to do research on and select suitable trade fairs PB 48 TradeFairs Internation al 3 4 2015 INTERNATIONAL Argentina Melting pot of different cultures Putting your foot in it by doing the wrong thing using misleading body language ex pressing different opinions or choosing the wrong words Fortunately there is very littlechance of doing this in Argentina says Detlef Braun Managing Director of Messe Frank furt That may be because the country sees itself as a melting pot of different cultures Thanks to its Argentinian subsidiary the Frankfurt company is familiar with the cultural differ ences Personal relationships play a big role in Argentinian working life asserts Braun That s why it s always advisable to begin with some small talk before turning to business You gen erally shake hands when you see someone if you know each other well a kiss on each cheek is usual for both men and women It s not unusual for firm friends to give each other a hug You generally use surnames for people you don t know stresses Detlef Braun The surname is preceded with Señor Señora Señorita or where relevant a title People who know each other better use their first names Life tends to get going in the evening in Argentina Trade fairs open at 1 pm or 2 pm and run until 9 pm People don t sit down to an evening meal or business meal until between 9 pm and 10 pm And as Managing Director Braun explains Argentinians love to talk about football and politics Rahmenprogramm beim UFI Kongress in Bogotá Die Freundlichkeit trägt zum Optimismus bei Social programme at the UFI Congress in Bogotá Friendliness adds to optimism Ph ot o U FI

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