From the polar regions to the Mediterranean, from established travel destinations to exotic new destinations: the Bern Holiday Fair has something to offer for everyone. After two cancellations due to Corona in 2021 and 2022 and a smaller edition during the comeback last year, the trade fair is back with its former strength. Mario Kovacevic, head of the Bern Holiday Fair for almost six years, comments on the 2024 edition.
The holiday fair in Bern has been going on since this morning. What else was there for you to do in the last few hours before the opening?
Mario Kovacevic: Before the opening, I always do one last walk through the halls to check whether everything is perfectly set up. But the day before the trade fair is more important to me. Every evening I check whether all exhibitors have found their place and can present themselves as desired. If an exhibitor is still not on site at 8 p.m. – as has already happened – you as a trade fair manager get a little nervous.
How has the work of the trade fair manager changed in recent years?
A lot of things happen at shorter notice than before. It will take longer until we have a good base of registrations. This is important for us so that we can start the detailed planning and determine the dimensions of the trade fair. When we send out the invitations in the summer, there is initially three to four months of radio silence. The whole thing is becoming more and more like a race against time. Organizing a trade fair that satisfies exhibitors and audiences alike has definitely become more challenging.
When was the last registration received this year that you could still consider?
(Laughs) The last registration came in a week ago today.
The last edition of the holiday fair in Bern in 2023 was fraught with many question marks and uncertainties after the Corona years. How do you look forward to the 2024 edition?
We have now definitely arrived in the post-Corona era. This is shown by the number of exhibitors alone. We are now halfway between the time before the pandemic and the comeback last year. Over 170 exhibitors will be in Bern over the next four days. We are satisfied with this number.
To put it into perspective: How many exhibitors did the Bern Holiday Fair have before Corona?
2020 – at the last edition before Corona we had around 240 exhibitors. In previous years there were around 300 exhibitors. It should be mentioned, however, that this total also included the so-called Activ Plus (health fair), which was integrated into the holiday fair until 2017. But I don’t want to look back on those times anymore. The pandemic has changed a lot. Now it’s time to look ahead. I assume that we could break the threshold of 200 exhibitors again next year.
Last year the trade fair took place with around 120 exhibitors. How do you explain the significant increase this year?
It certainly helped us here that the conclusion after the comeback trade fair last year was entirely positive. In addition, the industry is generally on the rise again. Many companies that were hesitant last year soon signaled that they wanted to take part again this time. In addition, the personnel situation in many companies has eased somewhat. Many companies once again have enough employees to manage a four-day trade fair in addition to their daily business. Only the exhibitors from the German and especially Austrian hotel industry are still missing compared to before Corona and account for the corresponding discrepancy. But what I’m particularly pleased about is that there are also new exhibitors who are in Bern for the first time this year, such as Coral Travel or returnees such as Thurgau Travel.
This time, under the motto “Freedom on four wheels”, you also have an area where everything revolves around holidays with a motorhome, a camping bus and a caravan. Why did you decide to hold such a special show just three months after the Suisse Caravan Salon in Bern?
A clear distinction must be made here: At the Suisse Caravan Salon, the focus is on the vehicles that are sold there. This is of course different at the holiday fair. The main aim here is to make camping holidays attractive to guests – with the aim of getting them to try out this type of travel and rent a vehicle. Holidays with caravans and motorhomes have become so popular among the Swiss that this form of travel deserves a special appearance at our trade fair. It is in no way a copy of the Suisse Caravan Salon.
Are there any other new offers at the holiday fair?
A section of the trade fair is dedicated to exciting excursion destinations in Switzerland. Six providers are presenting themselves there, for example Wengen Tourismus and BLS. This is something that hasn’t happened at the holiday fair in this concentrated form for a long time. I consider it an important offer that the public can find out about nearby excursion destinations in addition to all travel destinations around the globe. It’s not for nothing that we are the trade fair for travel and leisure.
Last year around 22,000 people visited the holiday fair in Bern. What number of visitors are you aiming for this year?
My goal is for us to at least break through the 22,000 visitor mark from last year. We had a fantastic travel year in 2023. This should also be reflected in our visitor numbers. If we reached 25,000 visitors, that would be excellent. However, the pure number of visitors is of secondary importance for the exhibitors anyway. They primarily want to sell holidays and generate bookings, and the quality of visitors in Bern is at a very high level.