"HortiContact sees quality and international appeal grow"

The 15th edition of HortiContact on 20-22 February was attended by a total of 14,468 professionals. Both the organisers and the exhibitors were pleased with the quality of the visitors and the greater interest among foreign visitors (up 1.6% compared with 2017). This satisfaction is also reflected in the number of applications for next year: more than 300 of the 500 exhibitors registered straight away for the 16th edition in 2019. This means that the exhibition floor is already more than 60% booked.

“We look back on this edition with great satisfaction,” says organiser Ramon Schlepers. “The number of visitors was down slightly on last year, but because we were focusing even more heavily on visitor quality this time, that is wholly in line with our expectations. The number of foreign visitors rose again, to 1388 international growers. The HortiContact Tour was also a great success, with around 40 international growers attending from ten different countries.”

The theme running through this 15th edition for both the organisers and the exhibitors was 15 years of horticulture. To mark the occasion, a special “pride campaign” was launched at HortiContact 2018. A number of large posters featuring stories and images from various exhibitors were displayed throughout the venue, and visitors were able to share their own “pride stories” on a special “pride wall”.

Schlepers: “We are already looking ahead to the 2019 edition, when we will be further developing the theme of “Pride in Dutch horticulture”. And of course we will once again be shining the spotlight on innovations in the industry. If any visitors or exhibitors have ideas on how we can expand on or improve the quality of HortiContact in 2019, we would be delighted to hear from them.”

The 16th edition of HortiContact will be held at the Evenementenhal Gorinchem on 19-21 February 2019. It will be the third edition under the international name HortiContact (formerly the Horticulture Business Days).

For more information:
www.horticontact.nl