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17/11/2006
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Hostelco closes its most successful show
On occasion of its 25th anniversary
On the 25th of October, Hostelco, the Hotel, Restaurant and Group Catering Equipment Show, closed the doors on an event which broke all records in quantity and quality of both exhibits and visitors. Around 100,000 trade visitors attended the 5-day show, which covered practically the whole of Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuïc exhibition centre (over 62,000 square metres of stands space). 80% of the 2,300 exhibitors –direct and indirect– came from Spain and the remaining 20% from 41 foreign countries, led by Italy and followed by Portugal and France.
10% of visitors were foreign from 104 countries. 79.5% came from EUU countries, with France heading the ranking, followed by Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany.
On this occasion, Hostelco celebrated its 25th anniversary and, after a quarter of a century of staging events, the show is today the leading hotel and catering show of its kind in Spain and the second most important in Europe.
The hotel restaurant and catering machinery sector was again the most representative at Hostelco (37% of exhibitors), followed by the furniture and decoration, kitchen and tableware and Expolimp sectors. There was also a significant increase in representation of some industrial segments such as general cleaning in Expolimp and in the Intervending Area. Food and beverages for the hotel and catering industry, management, control, information technology and security; communication and services, and textiles and uniforms accounted for 15%.
The show hosted various side events which provided added valued for exhibitors and visitors. Among these was the Forum of the Stars which, thanks to the collaboration of the chefs Carme Ruscalleda, Xavier Pellicer, Darío Barrio, Juan Pablo Felipe, Sergi Arola, Joan Roca, Ada Parellada and Javier Tejedor, contributed to the dissemination of an important topical issue: children’s eating habits. Hostelco’s aim in hosting the workshops, run by the chefs with over 100 children, was to encourage youngsters to learn the criteria of a healthy balanced diet.
The European Pizza Championship was another of the attractions at the show. The winner of the prestigious award was the Vallisoletano Nemesio Sánchez, 2005 European Champion and 2006 Spanish Champion.
In the Coffee Area, visitors were able to participate in various tastings, conferences and contests and to see the Final of the First National Barista Championship, won by 23-year old Chiara Nicolini, a Barcelona resident. This new title allows the winner to represent Spain in the 2007 world championships in Japan.
The open-view Gastrovisión restaurant served 130 daily menus inspired by the traditional recipes of all Spanish Autonomous Communities. Hostelco also hosted the exhibition “Hostelco: 25 years making history” which showed its technological development and featured the testimony of various figures who have marked the evolution of both the sector and the show.
Hostelco, organised by Fira de Barcelona and FELAC, the Federación Española de Asociaciones de Fabricantes de Maquinaria para Hostelería, Colectividades e Industrias Afines (Spanish Federation of Associations of Manufacturers of Hotel and Catering Machinery), will be back in 2008.
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« Rétour
(Source: Fira Barcelona)
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