It took many hours, we went through many websites and we had the odd moment of exasperation, or two, but we finally got there putting together a database of the top trade shows in Latin America for 2020. All 107 of them.
Why was it so hard? Answering this question is like a crash course on doing business in Latin America:
- Many trade show websites are not that easily available (believe it or not), not up-to-date, or incomplete (even incorrect). As we always say, don’t fully trust online information in our region!
- Most trade show organisers don’t even bother replying to emails (or calls, or tweets…) so we sometimes just couldn’t get hold of the information.
- Many trade shows are confirmed only 2-6 months in advance, which doesn’t particularly aid planning from overseas companies.
Also, from experience:
- There are few proper “trade” shows in Latin America (when compared to Europe, at least). The majority are trade and consumer shows. There are a few wonderful exceptions, though, like Exponor (Chile, mining), Perumin (Peru, mining), FITHEP (Argentina, food service) and Expoalimentaria (Peru, food and drink).
- Visitor support is brilliant in some cases and pretty poor in others (lack of information including opening times or lack of registration instructions is common).
- There aren’t many international or regional shows, most are either national or even very local. If you don’t speak Spanish (or Portuguese in Brazil), you will probably struggle.
ExpoPrado 2019 (Uruguay)
There are some fantastic shows (we’ve been to many) and some top-notch organisers, mind you. But the quality of trade shows in the region is a lot patchier than in Europe. It takes inside knowledge to know which to exhibit at (and when/how), which to just visit, and which to ignore. For example, in March we will be working for four UK clients at Expoactiva in Uruguay, we worked for the UK Embassy in Montevideo for ExpoPrado in 2019. We attend many trade shows a year and use them as part of market research for our clients, to build our network and we also offer a market visit service that can include visiting or exhibiting at a trade show. We’ve certainly walked the walk so if you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch!
And if you would like a copy of the database containing 124 trade shows in Latin America for 2020, do drop us a line at (please note that the database is exclusive to newsletter subscribers as part of a special package of benefits for their ongoing support over the years).
