MILAN (Italy) – This year’s Host, which runs from 23 to 27 October and coincides with the final days of the Milan Expo, is anticipated to be a record-breaking event with an ever more international flavour.
Of the expected 1,900 exhibitors (+10% with respect to 2013), 40% are foreign-based companies coming from 60 countries, covering all five continents.The top seven countries are Germany (attendance up 15% compared with 2013), Spain and France (+11%), the USA, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK (all +4%).
Already, more than 1,500 selected buyers are scheduled to attend.This year, in addition to the big chains, Host has also invited purchasing managers from 5- to 7-star boutique hotels, hotels de charme and design hotels, and large delegations are also on their way from the USA, China, Russia and India.
At least 135,000 professional visitors from all over the world are expected to turn up, along with hundreds of accredited international journalists.
More specifically, the attendees at Host will include distributors, retailers, exporters, importers, chefs, restaurant-owners, bartenders, confectioners and ice-cream makers, retailers, architects, designers, contractors, reception staff managers and spa centre directors.
Thousands of interested professionals will explore the various stands located in the three traditional macro-areas into which Host groups related sectors, namely: (1)Professional Catering and Bread-Pasta-Pizza; (2) Coffee-Tea (within the context of the International Coffee Fair: SIC), Bars and Coffee-vending machines and Gelato/Ice-Cream Pastry; and (3) Furniture and Tableware. These macro-areas are distributed across 14 complementary pavilions, two more than at the previous Host.
