July 2020
IWINETC,
its speakers and representatives from Friuli Venezia Giulia have prepared a
two-part online event to provide wine and culinary professionals with not only
an update on IWINETC but also insights and inspiration about what’s next for
wine and culinary tourism.
This
summary of session one below provides an update on IWINETC related to the event, health
and safety. Speakers in this session include Anthony Swift, IWINETC
Director, Lucio Gomiero, PromoTurismoFVG CEO and Lara Persello,
Area Enogastronomia – Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Friuli Venezia
Giulia.
To
kick off the session, Lucio Gomiero spoke on behalf of the Friuli Venezia
Giulia region and the event. He stated that the region is recovering from the
lockdown and is waiting for guests with open arms and open hearts. The event is
very important for food and wine business, their region and Italy. They are
excited to welcome guests at the end of October for IWINETC.
Next,
Anthony Swift provided three announcements for the event regarding health and
safety:
- In
anticipation of potential travel restrictions, IWINETC 2020 is a hybrid
event. If prospective or registered attendees are not able to travel or
simply do not wish to, they are still able to attend the conference
online. The sessions in the main conference area will follow the
conference timetable and will be available to view online for virtual attendees.
- Due
to the current situation, some of the sessions will be revamped to address
issues relating to wine and tourism in the new normal.
- It
is now possible to contact exhibitors prior to the event to request
information or schedule meetings from the comfort of your own homes. Also,
for the workshop providers, this contact feature will soon be incorporated
so attendees can contact workshop providers as well.
A
safety controls PDF was shared with the group and is linked at the bottom of
this post. It addresses safety controls and precautionary measures for the two-day
conference, business to business workshop, the exhibition area, the FAM trips
for the agents and press groups and the trips for the delegates who wish to
stay longer after the event to enjoy and discover the region.
To
continue the conversation regarding conference format changes due to COVID-19,
Anthony addressed what will happen before and during the events to keep
delegates safe:
What
will happen before the event to create a safe environment for delegates?
- Before the event, all registered delegates will be notified of new measures in place and of what to expect. These changes will be based on World Health Organization mandates and suggestions as well as European Union travel restrictions which are updated every fifteen days.
- The IWINETC safety document will be updated with any necessary modifications as they become available.
- Delegates will receive their badges ahead of the event so when they arrive, they will pick up their folder, personalised lanyards and conference bag in a contactless registration.
What
changes will be made at the event to create a safe environment for delegates?
- Day
1 of the conference is Monday, 26 October. If delegates are arriving at
Venice or Trieste airports on day 1, there is a free bus transfer to the
venue. A booking system will be in place ahead of the event so delegates
can book their buses in accordance with their flight arrival times. The
number of passengers for each bus transfer will be restricted to limit the
number of delegates per bus to support physical distancing.
- IWINETC
will employ a combination of measures to preserve physical distance at the
events including extending opening and closing times, staggering
conference session timings to avoid overcrowding, introducing barriers
where appropriate and spaced seating at conference talks.
- Sessions
will be booked in advance to avoid overcrowding in any particular session.
- Networking
will take place in larger venues to allow for proper physical distancing.
- In
the conference venue, there will be messages from the podium which will
remind delegates of physical distance measures, behaviors, and reminders
about personal hygiene.
- Branded
IWINETC face masks will be provided to guests to wear at the event and
bring home afterward.
- In
each conference bag, a personal hand sanitizer will be provided.
Additional hand sanitizer will be available at the events.
- In
the unlikely event that a delegate may need medical support, it will be
available.
- Delegate
contact details will be collected at registration and can be used for
contact tracing if needed.
Questions
& Answers
Attendees
of the session asked questions in the live chat forum. Their questions have
been answered by IWINETC and representatives of Friuli Venezia Giulia:
Question: Is Italy allowing Canadians into the country? Because Canada is
on the safe travel list for the European Union but not for Italy.
Answer: What we know so far is Italy
should be following the list from EU.
Question: What is the deadline to register as an attendee?
Answer: As soon as ticket sales
finish. There are still some available so you should be able to continue to
book your spot through August and September.
Question: How will safety measures affect the workshop meetings?
Answer: The workshop meetings will
be managed on a one-way system. Delegates will meet with agents one on one at a
distanced seating and then will continue on through the workshop.
Question: If we were on your list to be invited on the press trip will you
contact us directly?
Answer: Yes
Question: Will deposits be refunded if the event has to be canceled?
Answer: We hope it won’t be canceled.
Refund policies are on the registration forms. Please review the refund
policies before registering.
Question: Any idea when flights will be book for the press trip?
Answer: We will let you know as
soon as they are going to be booked.
Question: Will deposits be refunded if the United States is still on the ban
list?
Answer: We will have to wait and
see what the situation is and come up with a suitable refund policy.
Question: If we decide not to attend and be online, will there be any networking
for those not attending in person?
Answer: As an online attendee, you
will have access to ask questions to speakers. For networking events, you can
use the Facebook page for present and past IWINETC attendees as the best place
to network to make contact with journalists, MWs, producers and more.
Question: Assuming we can still come (USA), will the FAM trip we were originally
confirmed on still stand?
Answer: Yes. all the FAM trips are
confirmed in the same way.
Question: How many buyers on the sessions meeting have already confirm?
Answer: If referring to workshops,
the diary that we opened in February/March will be wiped, the same diary system
will be used to set appointments before the business to business workshop. The
reason it’s going to be wiped is because some of the agents aren’t going to be
attending so new agents are going to attend in their place. Of the 50 who were
confirmed, only 10 have dropped out. There will be 10-20 new agents in the
diary system.
Question: If people from the United States are not able to travel to Italy
then workshop will be severely hindered…why not make available b2b sessions
online?
Answer: We firmly believe as of
today the event is going to go ahead safely without any problems. So, the
suggestion to have a business to business workshop online would be a good
suggestion if we were starting from scratch, but as so many people are committed
to attending in person, both agents and providers (none of the providers have
canceled in the workshop – maybe 1 or 2 at most have dropped out), it will be
in person on 29 October.
Question: Will wine tasting be possible in the exhibition area? We are registered
and intend to bring some wines. Also, are there any restrictions related to the
Exhibitors?
Answer: We will answer that as
soon as new guidelines are confirmed because new guidelines are coming every
week. As for now, it is allowed. We will provide more space for every exhibitor
so guests won’t que in front of exhibitors. We will provide more frequent
change of glasses. All precautions will be taken. We will see what the new
guidelines are leading up to the event. You will be updated through the website
and through the PDF with the new information every time we have it. Continue to
make arrangements to bring wine.
Question: I was registered as an agent and had to take a refund less 20%
because of the refund deadline.. just did not know if I could come. Can I apply
that 20% to a new registration? Because I can come now…
Answer: If you opted for a refund,
you simply pay back the difference to reregister. You don’t have to pay the registration
fee again.
*Please note, every 15 days the European Union
travel ban changes so please keep looking to see what the EU says about
traveling into the EU. Please also check the IWINETC website for updates to the
safety controls PDF as this post may not be accurate over time.
Safety
controls PDF>>
Register as a
conference delegate here>>
Want to ask a question? Then please use the comments box below this post.
Article: Rachel Di Mattia