The Canary Islands MICE Industry Association interviews Natalia Santana, general manager of Infecar, about the activity of the Canary Islands Trade Fair Institution in the first half of 2022; the challenges that lie ahead for the venue, with the execution of refurbishment works and improvements to the spaces, as well as the construction of a new pavilion; and the importance for Gran Canaria, in particular, and for the Canary Islands in general, of having a consolidated trade fair and congress sector that serves to boost the social and business fabric of the archipelago.

On 8 July last, the Board of Directors held a meeting in which you were officially appointed Director General of Infecar, following the public competition held for this purpose…
That’s right. For me it is a great responsibility and a great honour to be able to be at the head of Infecar and all its team at a time of such profound transformation as the one we will be experiencing in the immediate future.

What are the challenges ahead for Infecar?

We are immersed in the comprehensive transformation of our site. The construction of the new Infecar pavilion will be joined by the drafting of a new Special Development Plan, which will entail a new physical reorganisation of the fairground space, and which will serve to respond to the challenges and trends facing the trade fair and events activity of the future. Our roadmap includes contributing to improving the competitiveness of Gran Canaria as a business destination and of its entire business fabric.

And in terms of activity, what is the roadmap for the near future?

Contributing to the economic growth of Gran Canaria, that is our main objective. In this sense, we are working to be in line with the economic promotion strategy of the island and the Canary Islands, improving the role of Infecar as a meeting place for supply and demand through its trade fairs, as elements that stimulate the economy, generating business opportunities and business growth. We are also working to promote the participation of exhibitors and visitors in international markets, attracting international events.

At the end of the first half of 2022, what is Infecar’s assessment of the return of trade fair and congress activity almost in its entirety?

The balance is very positive. So far this year we have hosted Canarias Comunica, ExpoAgro Canarias, ExpoBienestar Canarias, the Gran Canaria Me Gusta Fair, FIMAR, the International Sea Fair, which took place at Muelle Santa Catalina, and Fisaldo, the Opportunities Fair. At all these events we have felt a different atmosphere to that of 2021, when we were still e noticed a certain bewilderment and uncertainty on the part of visitors and exhibitors. Today we can say that the response we are having is reaching the pre-pandemic data, it is true that the numbers are not yet those of 2019 but we are on the way to getting back to them.During this time, the venues have been particularly affected by the pandemic, especially by the capacity restrictions and the continuous change of measures.

To what extent has the pandemic affected Infecar’s activity?

If we take a look at the development of our venue from March 2020 until now, we can identify different phases, which have obviously been marked by the course of the health pandemic. Thus, like all venues, we went from zero in terms of activity to adapting to a digital format, in which we continue to offer the business and socio-economic fabric of our island resources in a virtual space. When we were able to recover a certain degree of presence, we converted to the hybrid format, in which we reached a larger number of attendees through the screen, but which incorporated a reduced space for those who chose to come to our venue. This is how we reached the moment when the capacity and mask restrictions were left behind, returning to the longed-for normality that the sector needed in the on-site space, but maintaining the virtual space as an essential part of our activity.

The venue is a national pioneer in terms of sustainability, having signed an agreement last year with Breeam Spain to work on its sustainable building certification for buildings in use and new constructions.

What does this mean for the institution?

For us it is a challenge and a challenge to start working with Breeam standards and for the new Infecar exhibition pavilion to become the first building in Spain with excellent sustainability certification and, in addition, to certify not only the rest of the buildings already in use, but also the entire exhibition centre.

In this regard, it is important to emphasise that the work we are carrying out with Breeam España means for us a comprehensive change in the management model, taking into consideration the evaluation of the environmental impact of our activity; light and noise pollution; the development of a water strategy; the evaluation of the economic impact on the environment; the preparation of a mobility and transport plan and the development of an energy strategy, among others.

Infecar is one of the founding members of the Canary Islands MICE Association. Why is it so important for companies and institutions in the sector to be associated?

We believe that associationism is a fundamental tool for promoting the trade fair and congress industry, in this specific case, in the Canary Islands, but also at a global level. Through Canarias MICE we work together to position the islands as a business destination, giving greater visibility to the sector, generating specialised knowledge, supporting the socio-business and economic fabric of our land and facing the future challenges that we face, mainly in terms of sustainability and digital transformation.

Associationism is a fundamental tool for all of us as it allows us to work side by side, with a network of professionals in the sector with whom we exchange impressions and experiences that allow us to improve our competitiveness.