Serena Zheng

The 14th RAAPA Expo Autumn came to an end. When the pause button was pressed on global exhibitions due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the successful holding of RAAPA Expo Autumn and a series of training and seminar activities enabled the amusement industry to see the light at the end of the tunnel. After weathering the storm, the future can still be expected!

At a time when almost all the exhibitions of the amusement industry were canceled around the world, RAAPA took a bold step and decided to hold the next autumn exhibition of amusement rides and entertainment equipment at VDNH. This was due not only to the stabilizing epidemiological situation in Moscow at that time (since September, 2020, the mayor of the capital allowed holding exhibitions and other public events), but also to the great desire of the amusement industry specialists to finally break out of the protracted downtime, meet with the industry colleagues and try to find solutions to those new problems caused by the coronavirus situation. The organizers had many doubts. It was obvious that a big exhibition would not work, but, as noted by the overwhelming number of partners and colleagues in the industry, "it was very important for the exhibition to take place, so that it would become a starting point for the recovery and further development of our industry."

The 14th Moscow International Exhibition "Amusement Rides and Entertainment Equipment RAAPA EXPO AUTUMN-2020" was held from September 30 to October 2, 2020 in Pavilion 55 at VDNH. To prevent the risk of the spread of coronavirus infection, all the necessary precautions were taken in the exhibition pavilion and all requirements of Rospotrebnadzor were promptly observed. More than 60 companies took part in the exhibition, 20 of them participated indirectly, presenting advertising products at their booths. The exhibition theme covered such areas of the amusement industry as park rides, amusement machines, VR-attractions, kiddie and sports grounds, activity parks, shooting galleries, trampoline arenas, inflatable attractions, thematic design, rope parks, automation systems, water parks, vending equipment, vending and prize machines, design of amusement parks and family entertainment centers, personnel training, and the organization of festive events, to name just some.

Among the regular participants of the exhibition there were such well-known companies as: Polin Waterparks (Turkey), Las Vegas, Avira, PO GROS, Antonio Zamperla (Italy), Air Palace, Aeromir, Sparta, Bolid, GC Karusel, ATTRAPLAST, OtAdoYa, Pax-Design and others. Nine companies took part in the exhibition for the first time. Among the novelties, it’s worth to single out the developer of the latest virtual and augmented reality solutions - Enter VR, the manufacturer of animatronics - DINOMASHINE, “the Scalaland” family adventure centers franchise, and “Unitramp” sports and entertainment centers.

For three days, the exhibition was attended by about 1000 specialists - owners and managers of amusement parks, family entertainment centers, water parks, cinemas, recreation houses, health resorts, representatives of cities’ administrations and authorities, event agencies, individual entrepreneurs, and other parties of concern. Traditionally, the exhibition was accompanied by a business program. The central theme of the conferences and seminars was the work of the amusement industry after the pandemic.

Pavel Timets, a well-known expert in the field of entertainment business, conducted a training titled, "Business vaccination against COVID: 30 ready-made solutions on profit increase after quarantine." The speakers of the event were not only specialists of the amusement industry, but also representatives of Rospotrebnadzor, who spoke about the new sanitary requirements for enterprises in the leisure sector. Vilena Koinova and Yulia Novitskaya, the founders of “the Fibikids” event organization agency and “the Lime” Art Studio from Kazan, who enjoyed popularity in spring, this time held a large master class on the topic “How to generate revenue and footfall of clients in the amusement park with the help of event technologies."

At the seminar “New technologies, formats, and perspectives of catering for family entertainment centers and amusement parks," HoReCa market specialists spoke about post-quarantine trends in this area. Two conferences - "Crisis exit strategies and technologies of amusement industry" and "Current safety requirements to the operation of amusement rides and kiddie play-grounds" brought together a large number of participants. Also, within the framework of the exhibition, offline classes of the RAAPA Education Center were resumed under the program "Safety and efficiency of amusement rides operation."

The coronavirus pandemic has had a serious negative impact on the global and Russian amusement industry, but we are gradually returning to normal life. RAAPA EXPO AUTUMN-2020 exhibition, as the first professional event after the quarantine, in these conditions became the most important event, which marked the first steps to overcome the crisis in the industry, introduced new players to the market, and showed new opportunities for business development and preservation.

It was the exhibition everyone was waiting for! See you again at RAAPA EXPO exhibitions! We, the organizer of RAPPA Expo, sincerely invite you to the 23rd International Exhibition "RAAPA EXPO-2021" (March 30 - April 01, 2021, Moscow, VDNH, Pavilion 57). For participation in the exhibition, please contact: +7 (495) 234-52-13, raapa@raapa.ru or visit our official website www.raapa.ru

※The article is published in the GTI Magazine Issue No. 193 in December 2020