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With the aim of contributing to the recovery of the sector in the current context, Fira de Barcelona will organize the FHG Forum (Food & Hospitality, Tourism and Gastronomy Forum) on 28 and 29 September. A conference that will have a hybrid, virtual and face-to-face format, in which prominent speakers and companies will address crucial aspects of the sectors represented in shows such as Alimentaria, Hostelco and Fòrum Gastronòmic Barcelona.
FHG Forum, which will be held at the Fira de Barcelona Congress Center, will be divided into three thematic blocks: Catering, Foodservice and Agri-food Production; Hospitality, Communities and Tourism; and Retail, Food Distribution and Value Chain. In this way, through conferences, talks and round tables, it will become one of the main spaces for meeting, debate and reflection for the industry represented in the Alimentaria, Hostelco and Fòrum Gastronòmic salons.
Ferran Adrià (president of elBullifoundation), Josep Roca (Celler de Can Roca), Nandu Jubany (Can Jubany) and Artur Martínez (Aürt) are already some of the chefs confirmed at this congress in which, under the motto “Rethinking the future” , will address the immediate challenges of the food industry in the current situation with the aim of facilitating the recovery of the sector.
Alongside them, renowned experts such as economist Marc Vidal, who will address the need for the digital transformation of businesses to increase sales, and IESE professor José Luis Nueno will also speak.
For its part, the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors AECOC will present new consumer trends in the post-COVID era from the point of view of distribution, and will raise debates such as the sustainability of online commerce and the new challenges of the food industry value chain in the face of the “new normal”.
Likewise, the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and of entities like the Spanish Federation of Associations of Manufacturers of Machinery for Hospitality, Collectivities and Related Industries (FELAC), the Spanish Confederation is foreseen of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), the Spanish Confederation of Hospitality of Spain (CEHO) or the employer of collective catering companies Food Service Spain, which will address future scenarios for tourism and hospitality.
In this sense, BTravel, the tourism fair of Fira de Barcelona, will coordinate a round table on the tourism sector with the presence of prominent sector leaders.
For the director of the FHG Forum, Josep Alcaraz, “it will be an important event, because it will present, in these moments of uncertainty, a solid platform where the sector can meet again, know success stories to face the current situation and discover tools with which to relaunch your business”.
To this end, business meetings will be held between invited buyers and participating companies. “Encouraging business meetings and the presentation of top-level speakers in a hybrid event of global scope allows us to continue to maintain the identity of Alimentaria, Hostelco and Gastronomic Forum: internationalization, innovation and business, positioning – us as the point of reference for the sector to look forward again“, adds the general director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, J. Antoni Valls.
Face-to-face and virtual
The new event will have a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual) for industry, distribution, retail, agriculture, local trade, catering, hotels, communities, foodservice, technology companies and services, entities and sectoral associations and institutions can participate actively and with the maximum facilities and security conditions.
Thus, FHG Forum will combine a face-to-face part in which attendees can attend the various sessions scheduled during the two days, with a virtual platform that will stream all the conferences with simultaneous translation to achieve greater reach.
The event will feature the antiCovid protocol that Fira de Barcelona has developed in collaboration with the consultancy specializing in risk management Aon and the advice of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona in order to offer the maximum security guarantees for workers, organizers, exhibitors, visitors and suppliers.
