The trade shows Tendencias Creativas, World Maritime Week, Subcontratación and Ferroforma, organised by Bilbao Exhibition Centre and to be held in 2017, have recently been granted the “Fully International Award” by ICEX. Pumps&Valves, Maintenance, Fitmaq, Addit3D and Expovacaciones have also been given the “International Customs Award”.

These certificates prove the high quality of the events organised by the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, as well as the fact that every year they become more and more international. With these international awards, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and specifically the State Secretariat for Commerce, grant the exhibitors at BEC tax advantages.

As these awards are trade policy tools, BEC must comply with certain requirements that an objective third party must verify, like a company specialised in audits or the Spanish Trade Fair Association (AFE). Some of these requirements are the following: the amount of direct foreign exhibitors is at least 10 %, foreign visitors account for no less than 5 % of the total, there have been at least three previous editions of the trade show held regularly, results show that the exhibition has grown positively in the last three editions, it is supported by the show’s sector, the event enables the purchase of new technology for the sector, and it gets positive reports from the Regional Commerce Office and ICEX after visiting the latest edition of the exhibition.

This string of accolades proves that the aforementioned trade shows are also an important tool to access international markets, especially for SMEs.

 2017, A VERY INTERNATIONAL YEAR

From 26 to 29 January, Bilbao Exhibition Centre will host Tendencias Creativas, the Manual Crafts Exhibition. The event is in its 11th year and there will be about one hundred brands exhibiting a wide range of manual craft items and proposals. Many manual crafts and decorative arts professionals, shops, creators, distributors and fans will meet over these four days. Sectors like fabrics, manual arts, decoration, baking and jewellery-making will be present, amongst others.

From 27th to 31st March, BEC will become an international showcase for the naval, port, fisheries and energy sectors thanks to the World Maritime Week 2017. With specific conference programmes and high level networking for each of the four sectors as well as joint areas and activities, such as the opening plenary session, exhibition area, gala dinner and prize-giving ceremony, the encounter will maintain the specialisation of each field using their own trademarks. Therefore, SINAVAL will focus on the naval sector, EUROFISHING on the fisheries sector, MARINE ENERGY WEEK, which is organised by EVE, Tecnalia, AZTI and BEC and is sponsored by Iberdrola, will focus on offshore renewable energies, particularly offshore wind power and tidal power, and FUTUREPORT, which is back after its commercial use in 2009, will concentrate on ports.

From 5 to 7 May BEC will once again hold Expovacaciones, where national and international travel trends and experiences will be presented, as well as the most innovative leisure and free time alternatives. The trade show will gather representatives of travel agencies, wholesalers, transport companies, official organisations, hotels, the media, camping and caravanning, estate agents and tourism companies. All these will offer a wide range of tourism options for everyone.

A month later, from 6 to 8 June 2017, BEC will become a great industrial platform, thanks to the simultaneous hosting of Maintenance with Pumps & Valves, International Trade Show for Pump Systems, Valves and Equipment for Industrial Processes, Ferroforma, International Hardware, DIY and Industrial Supplies Fair, Subcontratación, International Fair of Manufacturing Processes and Equipment, Fitmaq, International Fair of Bargain and Used Machinery, and ADDIT3D, International Trade Show on Additive and 3D Manufacturing. The synergies among sectors and new visitor profiles that will be attracted by the event, who are closely related to innovation and technological development, will be some of the features that make this great show stand out.

ICEX-España Exportación e Inversiones is a national public business body that aims to promote the internationalisation of Spanish companies.