Heimtextil, scheduled to take place in the second week of January, is canceled due to the worsening pandemic situation in Germany over the past two weeks and the associated restrictions. Messe Frankfurt is working with the industry to determine whether and in what form a new offering in the summer of 2022 can be organized to run parallel to the Techtextil/Texprocess trade fair duo. Later events such as Ambiente, Christmasworld, Creativeworld, Paperworld, and Frankfurt Fashion Week are still planned.
Heimtextil is an international trade fair that has always kicked off the spring trade fair season and is the first major international trade fair in Germany directly after Christmas and New Year with exhibitors and visitors from over 135 countries. The exponential increase in the number of infections in a brief period and the accompanying multitude of developments and resolutions that are clearly outside the realm of influence of the organizer have led to a significant deterioration in the general conditions and requirements for holding Heimtextil as a significant trade fair of international relevance at this early stage.
These developments include in particular the classification of Germany as a high-risk area and the associated travel warnings, international and intercontinental travel restrictions in India, Japan, the United States, and Great Britain, as well as the quarantine obligation and “2G” (only with vaccinated and recovered status) requirements without recognition of the WHO vaccine list in Germany. Equally important are the steadily rising infection figures and the accompanying urgent appeal, including the Robert Koch Institute, to reduce contacts to a minimum and cancel all significant events.
Many of the exhibiting and visiting companies at Heimtextil are currently reacting to this with travel and trade fair attendance bans out of an obligation of concern towards their employees. The global willingness to travel is continuing to fall rapidly.
