Tag: InterSupply

  • ITSHub Canceled as Coronavirus Spikes

    ITSHub Canceled as Coronavirus Spikes

    Photo courtesy of Messe Dortmund

    Messe Dortmund has canceled its ITShub event, which was scheduled to take place Nov. 3-4, 2020, at the Dortmund Exhibition Center in Dortmund, Germany.

    Messe Dortmund announced ITShub hybrid platform earlier this year, as an interactive substitute for the InterTabac and InterSupply trade fairs, which have been postponed to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Rising virus infections around the world have now prompted the organizers to call off ITShub, as well.

    “The way infections have been trending over the last few weeks has unfortunately made our plans for this successful ITShub pilot considerably more difficult to achieve,” said Sabine Loos, managing director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe, in a statement.

    “Feeding the online part of a hybrid event with content for virtual visitors naturally requires a panoply of physical events, but the travel associated with being physically present remains a real challenge—especially for international participants—and in the end this is what led to the event being cancelled.”

  • InterTabac Adapts to Pandemic

    InterTabac Adapts to Pandemic

    Intertabac before the coronavirus pandemic
    Photo: Messe Dortmund

    Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the InterTabac and InterSupply trade fairs will take place in the form of an “ITS Hub” this year. Scheduled for Nov. 3-4, 2020, the event will combine elements of a physical event and virtual platform.

    “Our event brings together the best of both worlds, reflecting the diversity of the tobacco industry and tobacco production, and merging the advantages of a conventional trade fair and an online event,” said Sabine Loos, managing director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe.

    According to Loos, the event will feature physical zones where companies can present their products and then move to separate “communication islands” for further discussions or product samples. The physical areas have been designed with partition walls and adequate space to allow for social distancing. In addition, the event will have a stage and a video spot connecting the real world and the digital world.

    The central point of contact on the Internet is a digital platform on which visitors aged 18 and over will be able to register and follow the program on site.

    “When it comes to the live streaming of the on-stage program and individual product presentations—complete with simultaneous interpreting—we’ll be using tools to enable direct interaction, ensuring everyone has as ‘normal’ a trade fair experience as possible,” said Loos.

    “We are also currently preparing offerings such as tobacco product samples that exhibitors and partner organizations will be able to send to verified users’ homes,” said Loos. “This means that one of the signature aspects of InterTabac and InterSupply—smelling, tasting and experiencing the various products—will be preserved even during the current pandemic.”

    Access to the online content will be free of charge.

    The next regular-format InterTabac and InterSupply shows are scheduled for Sept. 16-18, 2021.