Success of the most anticipated edition of Alimentaria, with visitors from 149 countries

Satisfaction at Fira de Barcelona given the success achieved by the Alimentaria & Hostelco and Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) trade shows. With these events, the return to normality in the trade fair sector has been consolidated, which began with the celebration of MWC and will now continue with the debut of Seafood ---the largest international fair dedicated to seafood products---, with the parades of Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, the Comic Fair, the IOT Solutions world congress, the ISE audiovisual technology fair and Hispack and Graphispag, as highlights of this first semester.

"We are very satisfied with the results of this edition, which has meant a long-awaited reunion for the sector, fulfilling expectations that we hope will soon culminate in the complete recovery of the market," said the president of Hostelco, Rafael Olmos.

Close to 100,000 visitors have visited Alimentaria & Hostelco, of which 23% have been international, from 149 countries. The internationalization of the fair is one of the main objectives of Fira de Barcelona, which has managed to bring 1,400 major buyers from European Union and American countries to the fair, who have held some 13,000 business meetings with exhibiting companies. Of the total of 3,000 companies present at the fair, some 400 were from outside Spain, from 52 countries. "The intense dynamic experienced during this edition reinforces the event's character as a strategic partner for the sector in its unstoppable internationalization process. The quality of the buyers who have visited us stands out, which will contribute to boosting sales of the food industry abroad," said Toni Valls, director of the fair. Brazil, Slovakia, Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates and Puerto Rico have participated for the first time in the event.

Alimentaria & Hostelco has occupied 85,000 net square meters distributed in seven of the eight exhibition halls of the Gran Via venue, with an estimated economic impact for the city of 180 million euros. In this edition, sustainability and all those foods positioned in the healthy products segment have had a special prominence, with a special explosion of animal protein and all meat substitute products, although the meat industry is the one that occupies the most square meters in the show. Tastings, greetings, and showcooking demonstrations carried out by great chefs have taken place over four days in all the fair's stands, where the desire for reunion was palpable and a good degree of satisfaction was felt by the exhibitors.

After the doors closed, a hundred volunteers from the Fundació Banc dels Aliments toured the stands and collected nearly 35 tons of food and beverages donated by the exhibitors.

The next edition of Alimentaria will be held in March 2024 at the Gran Via venue. Before that, Fira de Barcelona will proceed to renew the organizing committee of the event, as the current president, José Luis Bonet, will leave office after 22 years.

BWW receives 18,000 visitors in its second edition

For its part, Barcelona Wine Week concluded its second edition on Wednesday with 18,000 visitors, 6,000 business meetings, and 650 exhibiting companies from all wine-producing territories of Spain. 29% of the visitors were foreigners, from 79 countries, mainly European and American. With an area of 10,000 square meters in the Montjuïc venue, during the three days of the fair, more than 165,000 wine glasses were used for tastings of the 800 new wine references presented at the show.

"We have met our goal of consolidating ourselves as the best meeting point for wine professionals in Spain, from where to project the excellence and diversity of quality Spanish wine in the international market," said Javier Pagés, president of the BWW. The show will be held again in February next year.