Leading representatives from the home textiles industry view the upcoming Heimtextil (12-15 January 2021) as a decisive way to boost their business activities after the restart. They have also expressed their confidence in Messe Frankfurt's comprehensive protection and hygiene concept. Both trade and industry thus consider the prerequisites for a safe and successful Heimtextil to be met. ‘Heimtextil 2021 will be different – more concentrated and focused on actual business. And the necessary hygiene precautions will also, of course, change the look of our trade fair’, says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. ‘We consider ourselves all the luckier that numerous exhibitors and visitors, both national and international, are placing their trust in us by announcing their participation and are counting on Heimtextil to be the first industry highlight after the restart’.

In Germany, bdia (Association of German Interior Architects), the BTE (Association of German Textile and Bedding Retailers), the DecoTeam, Heimtex (Association of the Home Textiles Industry), the MZE (the furniture association for leading, medium-sized specialist stores), the VDB (Association of Bed Dealers) and World-Architects have all stated how incredibly important Heimtextil is. On the international side, the following major industry players have shared their thoughts about Heimtextil: CIE (Consejo Intertextil Español), El Corte Inglès, Home Textiles from Spain, IGI (The Global Wallcoverings Association), Taiwan Textile Federation, Tetsiad (Turkish Home Textile Industrialists' and Businessmen’s Association) and UKFT (UK Fashion and Textile Association) – see below for detailed statements by the industry representatives. Online now: overview of all participating exhibitors Hall occupancy by exhibitors is now taking concrete shape: by mid-July, 947 exhibitors from 49 countries had made a firm booking for a stand at Heimtextil. They therefore currently occupy a surface area of nine football fields. More stand bookings will follow over the next few weeks and months. Heimtextil has now published an overview of all participating companies on its website.

Positive signals from the world of politics Heimtextil is also receiving positive signals from the world of politics, which give rise to hopes for relaxation and speedy return to successful trade fair operations: at trade fairs, it is now important to ensure that the minimum social distance of 1.5 metres is observed. As a guideline, three square metres of space should be available for each person. This will ensure that Heimtextil can permit all visitors entry to the halls at all times. Since the start of July, travel to the EU from selected third countries has been possible again. ‘This is an important signal for international exhibitors and trade visitors who come to Germany for our trade fairs and another important building block in the successful restart of the trade fair’, emphasises Jörn Holtmeier, CEO of AUMA (Association of the German Trade Fair Industry). The German government has so far permitted unrestricted travel to Germany for visitors from eleven countries, in addition to the 26 EU member states. Free tickets: Heimtextil supports exhibitors and visitors Given the challenging situation facing many companies, Heimtextil is supporting its exhibitors and visitors with a new measure: exhibitors will be given free ticket codes to pass on to their customers. With this gesture, Heimtextil expresses its solidarity with its exhibitors and will allow numerous dealers and furnishing experts to gain free entry to the trade fair. ‘We want to create additional incentives for national and international buyers to visit the trade fair in Frankfurt at the start of the year so that they can meet old and new business partners alike’, says Schmidt.

Prepared on the basis of information from Heimtextile