Several categories of events can be distinguished based on the location where they took place and the role that RAI Amsterdam played:

• There were 388 events (421 in 2017) organised by third parties in the convention centre in Amsterdam – they jointly accounted for 1,294,000 visitors (1,124,000 in 2017) – for which RAI Amsterdam played a facilitating role.
• Eleven events (13 in 2017) were organised by the RAI itself in our convention centre in Amsterdam for which the RAI had an organising and facilitating role. These events welcomed around 421,000 visitors (375,000 in 2017).
• The remaining six events (nine in 2017) were organised by the RAI abroad and attracted around 109,000 visitors (126,000 in 2017); here, RAI Amsterdam only had an organising role.

Events in Amsterdam

The table below show a selection of events divided by type. The relevant websites provide more information about each event.

Horecava 2018
The 62nd edition of Horecava more than lived up to its theme ‘Taste the Future’. No fewer than three-quarters of the visitors indicated that they found this edition more innovative than the last. The exhibition was full of new initiatives, including future trends in the Innovation & TrendLAB, multiple pop-up restaurants, new competitions and the extra ‘Fast Casual on the Move’ hall. The latter responded to changing consumer demands for convenience concepts and was visited by two-thirds of visitors. Three-quarters of the visitors indicated that they had come to the exhibition for new products, services and technologies. Horecava is now so large that a multi-day visit is recommended and twice as many visitors did so in 2018 as in previous events.

The following activities took place during Horecava 2018:

• Partnership with the Vegetarian Restaurant Week held annually in March. RAI Amsterdam called on visitors, chefs and hospitality entrepreneurs to participate and generate extra attention for vegetarian recipes;
• Partnership with Stichting Verantwoorde Voeding Basisonderwijs (foundation for healthy food in elementary schools): signatures were collected at the exhibition for a petition calling on the government to pay more attention to this subject. A press conference featuring a parliamentarian and a university professor was also held at the exhibition;
• Innovation & TrendLAB: one of the themes was ‘circularity’. A number of speakers at the seminar (including the writer and former politician Jan Terlouw) called for sustainable solutions. The lab itself hosted several circular companies and applications, including cradle-to-cradle work clothing, equipment for longer storage of prepared food, waste reduction (La Place took part here), worm hotels (biological decomposting solutions) and city greening (urban gardens for hospitality businesses);
• Advisory lab: a range of consultants provided businesses with ideas on sustainable solutions (energy, water, food waste, etc.);
• Innovation Award: the winner in the sustainable category was a new cleaning agent using natural minerals and no chemicals;
• Several sustainable pavilions could be found at the exhibition, including:
  - Veggie & fruit market: encouraging the use of vegetables;
  - From source to plate in NL: top chefs demonstrated the preparation of culinary dishes with local seasonal products from the region.

Intertraffic 2018
Intertraffic Amsterdam 2018, the world's leading trade event for infrastructure, traffic management, smart mobility, safety and parking, took place in March and attracted more than 32,000 visitors. A new component at the exhibition was ITSUP: start-ups play a significant role when it comes to innovation in the international smart mobility sector and this platform allowed them to present their ideas to a large group of companies and specialists from the sector. Forty-six start-ups were hosted on the stage in Amsterdam and an ITSUP was also held at Intertraffic China.

Interclean 2018
This exhibition took place in 13 halls and hosted more than 800 exhibitors, making it the most complete event in the field of professional cleaning. Professionals came to Amsterdam to find products that deploy the latest developments in technology and innovation. In addition, there were extensive, industry-specific seminars on multiple stages, sub-events, and demonstrations of products and specialised cleaning skills. The Interclean Amsterdam Innovation Award was also presented.

ISE
The RAI had to prepare its maximum capacity for Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), the world's largest audio-visual equipment trade exhibition. An additional 9,000 m² of exhibition space in the form of temporary pavilions were added to the area in front of the building and a further 2,650 m² to the conference square. Moreover, the conference had 15 halls at its disposal.

In July 2018 ISE announced that it would remain in RAI Amsterdam in 2019 and 2020 and move to another European city in 2021 to accommodate its explosive growth. The organisers made the following statement: “The RAI and Amsterdam have offered us a fantastic stage and been wonderful partners who have made a real contribution to the success of the exhibition. Unfortunately, the increasing demands to join as exhibitors and the ongoing increase in visitor numbers, combined with the limitations in available floor space, made us realise that, despite all our efforts, the event could not continue to grow while remaining in the RAI.” While regretting ISE’s decision, the RAI understands its reasoning and is pleased that ISE can continue to grow. We built a very successful event together over the past 15 years and will ensure that the remaining editions in RAI Amsterdam in 2019 and 2020 are events to remember.

Successful introduction: Amsterdam Drone Week
Professionals from 28 European countries involved in drone-related technology, applications and regulations came together during Amsterdam Drone Week in November. This new event was developed by RAI Amsterdam in collaboration with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management as a partner. It responded to a need for clear regulations requested by sectors such as defence, police, healthcare, logistics and transport as a prerequisite for using new drone applications. In fact, the first European regulations for unmanned aircraft are expected to arrive in 2019. The drone industry is developing very quickly and Amsterdam Drone Week facilitated discussions, innovations and connections among the relevant stakeholders.

More sustainable new products at the Huishoudbeurs and Negenmaandenbeurs
The Huishoudbeurs and the associated Negenmaandenbeurs, which took place in RAI Amsterdam in February, offered lots of interesting news for consumers in terms of sustainability. There was plenty to see and do, from bamboo diapers to natural deodorants, from a vegetables plaza to fashion with a story. Waste was taboo: leftover products were collected and donated via the Zending over Grenzen charity as the many visitors to both exhibitions jointly made a contribution to a cleaner environment.

The exhibition organisers have been working together with the Stibat foundation since 2012 to encourage visitors to bring in their used batteries during the exhibition. A total of 650,000 batteries have been recycled in this way over the last four editions of Huishoudbeurs.

A Huishoudbeurs app available for download from Google Play and the Apple Store provided all the information required for a fun day at the show, such as the programme and a map. In addition, visitors could activate a virtual scratch card every week until the start of the exhibition to have a chance to win gifts. Users who switched on push notifications were automatically reminded of this every week.

Parents want the very best for their child – and it is natural to wish one’s children to grow up in a clean and healthy world. This is why the Negenmaandenbeurs also featured many sustainable products, brought together at the Puur Baby Plaza.

More visitors and high willingness to buy at HISWA 2018
The water sports season started with the new HISWA Amsterdam Boat Show in March 2018. Around 37,500 visitors, seven per cent more than for the previous edition, came to find information on the latest news, try things out and make purchases. A poll among exhibitors showed that lots of sales were made. The Funsports Xperience, which was twice as large this year as last year, was also a hit. Eighty per cent of visitors were enthusiastic about the new course plotted by HISWA.

Masters of LXRY
For the first time in the history of the RAI, a Michelin-star restaurant was opened on the exhibition floor: M21. Ten elite chefs – together accounting for 21 Michelin stars! – cooked for visitors to the Masters of LXRY over four evenings.

AIDS 2018
AIDS 2018, the 22nd edition of the world’s largest conference in the field of health, took place in the RAI in July. Scientists, policy makers, activists and politicians all came to Amsterdam to talk about ways to curb the global AIDS epidemic.

Eighteen thousand visitors to the conference, including doctors, researchers, activists and HIV patients from 180 countries were received in the RAI. Tens of thousands of visitors came for the Global Village, 35,000 nights in hotel rooms were booked and 500 sessions, workshops and activities were held accompanied by 800 volunteers, prominent speakers and international ambassadors. A number of side events took place in Amsterdam, there was a major publicity campaign in the city, and around 800 journalists from the Netherlands and abroad were present at Schiphol. Luminaries such as Prince Harry, Charlize Theron, Princess Mabel, Bill Clinton and Elton John all participated in AIDS 2018.

Other events in Amsterdam
In addition to the abovementioned categories, a range of other events took place in the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre.

Jumping Amsterdam
The 59th edition of Jumping Amsterdam was held in January 2018. The event was a huge success, with several completely sold-out components. To accommodate this interest, an extra hall was used for the event in 2019. The area accommodating the general public and stands was expanded by 4,000 m², while the promo village grew by 700 m². This ensured a more varied selection of stands for our visitors, ranging from equestrian sports to jewellery and from the latest horse transportation vehicles to bridal fashion. The increase in the capacity of the spectator gallery made it possible for us to host more visitors. The programme was also adjusted, among other things due to the return of the Show Jumping World Championships.

Amsterdam Sports Gala
The gala celebrating elite sports in Amsterdam took place in December. The Fannies were awarded to the best sportswoman, sportsman, talent, coach and sports team in Amsterdam, respectively, in the RAI’s Ballroom. The association with the widest range of sports on offer for the disabled and chronically ill also received the Amsterdam Plum.

DNA Gala
The second DNA Gala was held in honour of the 105th anniversary of the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek hospital. This grand event for 1,000 guests aimed to raise funds for research into immunotherapy. During the evening, guests were treated to a dinner interspersed with performances by various famous artists. There was also an exclusive auction, as well as a draw. The event was followed by an exclusive after-party. The gala ultimately raised a whopping €919,530 – one of the highest results ever seen for a benefit gala.

How do the RAI’s own events stimulate the sustainable growth and development of people, markets and the environment?

RAI Amsterdam strives to see all our own events linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. By putting the social challenges linked to the relevant sector/community on the agenda of every exhibition, we stimulate the sustainable growth of people, markets and the environment.

The RAI’s business operations contribute especially to the six Sustainable Development Goals shown in the table in the Strategy paragraph. Moreover, the RAI’s own events make their own contributions to specific SDGs depending on the sector in which they are active.

Events abroad

The RAI organises several of its hallmark trade exhibitions from Amsterdam in local versions abroad as well.

The first Event Industry Hackathon
In October, RAI Amsterdam organised an event which invited 50 hackers, divided across eight teams, to find solutions for four challenges related to the events sector in 24 hours. The day saw the most pressing questions in the field of sustainability, matchmaking, experiences and event management solved by experts, scientists, students and professionals from a range of different disciplines. Each challenge was hacked by two teams and the solutions pitched to the jury. The solutions and ideas will be shared within the Dutch and international events sector.

Five convention restaurants, two permanent restaurants
The RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre has five restaurants: the Grand Café, First Floor Restaurant, Holland Restaurant, Café Amsterdam and the Amtrium restaurant. They are opened as required when an event or conference are taking place. There are another two restaurants in the convention centre which are operated by third parties: THE ROAST ROOM and Strandzuid. In addition to the restaurants, various catering points in each complex are operated during exhibitions and conferences by cafés and eateries such as La Place, Sunday’s and Sushi Time.

Basement Chefs
The RAI’s culinary team is called the Basement Chefs and works in the nexus of underground corridors and cellars where our kitchens are located. From gala dinner to catering for a conference or exhibition, the RAI can offer the logistical capacity as well as the flexibility to turn any event into a gastronomic success. There are sometimes more than a hundred cooks active in our kitchen during large events.

Heartwarming Amsterdam
The ‘Heart-warming Amsterdam’ concept we deploy in our kitchens showcases a deliberate choice to work with regional products and remove vulnerable ingredients from the range. Products used have an added value for the region or society at large. Care farms for outings or education, small local farms, urban greenhouses and dairy farms in the region are seen both as suppliers and a key source of inspiration.

This supports vulnerable products in our urban region while enabling RAI Amsterdam to offer people a chance to enjoy distinctive products grown in the region and dependent on the season. In addition, keeping the route and distance between production and consumption as short as possible helps reduce our CO₂ emissions.

In the spotlight: Warm lunch at the Bosshardt house
Since June 2018 the Basement Chefs have provided the ingredients for a weekly warm lunch for 50 guests at the Salvation Army’s Bosshardt house in Amsterdam Noord. The house serves a free lunch every Thursday to give people who are lonely, elderly or have special needs a place at the table. This initiative has seen the RAI offer a fine second destination for quality products from our kitchens.

Sustainable alternative

At RAI Amsterdam we find it very important to add a sustainable alternative to each product group and, where possible, provide sustainable products as standard. The range of sustainable alternatives covers everything from furniture, carpeting, lighting, plants and modular stand construction to food & beverages. The catering on the exhibition floor is particularly important to visitors. It is not realised entirely by RAI Amsterdam itself, with a part being provided by sub-contractors. In addition to innovating in our own kitchens, RAI Amsterdam has therefore entered a dialogue with these suppliers on ways to boost their level of sustainability. Whenever possible, all concession holders now include an organic product in their range as standard at all events in which they are active.

Gold level of the EPCAS Food Waste Initiative
In September 2018, RAI Amsterdam was awarded the Gold level of the EPCAS Food Waste Initiative for the many activities it undertakes to counteract food waste, such as:

• Participating in a study by Wastewatchers to monitor what is left over from ordered lunch items so as to learn more and adjust our range if possible;
• Whenever an organiser is open to the idea we can gradually change our catering offer so that there are less leftovers. For instance, The Basement Chefs created a street food assortment during a large private event and during Money20/20;
• Our Visitor Catering department developed a sustainable food box as a way to prevent waste by giving people the option of taking their food or leftovers with them;
• The Basement Chefs also have a partnership with In-Stock, which purchases leftover items from supermarkets for use in the RAI;
• RAI Amsterdam regularly donates products to the Food Bank;
• Every Thursday, the RAI offers a free three-course lunch for the Salvation Army in Amsterdam-Noord, where dishes are compiled from a residual stream of event catering in the RAI for around 50 people at a time. These are prepared meals left over at the RAI which cannot go to the Food Bank. This creates a new social purpose for leftover food, which naturally meets strict standards of food quality;
• Biodegradable food waste remaining at the RAI goes into a swill tank and is converted into biogas. This biogas is later returned to the RAI in the form of generated power;
• The production of RAI Ketchup: the Basement Chefs were contacted a few years ago by a tomato grower asking if they could find a new destination for tomatoes left over at the La Place restaurant chain, which was in dire straits at the time. This was the beginning of a new product line, and some 2,500 litres of ketchup have been produced since then.

RAI Hotel Services is the largest accommodation intermediary in Amsterdam and the surrounding region, mainly booking hotel reservations for visitors to international events. In 2018, over 36,600 reservations were processed, comprising more than 174,500 overnight stays (in 2017 this number was 141,500). The RAI’s Hotel Services website provides information on the hotels’ sustainability labels, permitting this criterion to be highlighted during the selection and booking.

RAI Hotel Services only works with hotels that have the ‘I Amsterdam approved’ quality label. This label is granted by Amsterdam&partners (formerly Amsterdam Marketing) to hotels that meet certain standards and agree to reserve available rooms at a fixed rate for organisers, visitors and exhibitors during large city-wide events.

We have defined six pillars to achieve these goals:

• Client solutions: We provide our clients with an even better service by constantly expanding our service portfolio;
• Portfolio development: we work on the (continued) development, purchasing and acquisition of (new) titles, focusing on business-to-business events both in Amsterdam and abroad;
• Data & digitalisation: we apply technological developments to create value for our clients and work more efficiently. We also use it to develop new business models;
• Multifunctional area development: we are a meeting point for everyone. Our unique location in the heart of Amsterdam facilitates corporate and spontaneous meetings alike. RAI Amsterdam should be an attractive environment, before, during and after events;
• Building & infrastructure: we offer an accessible and safe place for valuable meetings. We increase the available square metres of exhibition space within the existing options and substantially improve logistics and traffic management. The location is fully equipped for business and leisure.
• A learning organisation: we challenge ourselves to constantly work in smarter ways and ensure an optimal working environment for our employees;

In 2017 the RAI was still organised in a departmental structure with two main divisions: RAI Exhibitions and RAI Convention Centre. Over the course of 2017, the new management team worked together with the RAI’s employees to move from a structure divided into departments toward a process-oriented structure.

Each new organisational segment has its own responsibility with regards to the RAI’s three core processes:

EVENT

• Events are leading in all our activities;
• Each department provides a contribution (direct or indirect) to events;
• The organisation and tasks are set up in a way that ensures that the interests of departments are subordinated to the event process;
• The RAI works with a single uniform event process during both its own and third-party events.

INNOVATION

• Innovation is a responsibility of the business;
• The focus needs to shift from pioneering instead of merely improving;
• It is crucial to increase the value of meetings; Innovation specialists support the business and stimulate the process;
• We focus on short cyclical steps by initiating small projects;
• We work outside-in by bringing in external knowledge. To make this happen, we are continuously expanding our innovation ecosystem.

MANAGEMENT including new business, HR, IT, etc.)

• New business fills and manages the pipeline of new initiatives. In this context, the RAI aims to have an open partnership with third parties;
• The new business process is managed and given substance at discussion meetings where departments and experts jointly make choices and bring together results;
• Portfolio Management, Revenue Management and Capacity Management are active on a tactical level. Portfolio Management coordinates the event portfolio while Revenue Management optimises turnover and Capacity Management prevents bottlenecks;
• RAI services ensure a smooth and efficient handling of demand; The costs of RAI services (fixed and variable) are passed on to the relevant event;
• We use a uniform reporting structure for all events.

We have been working on translating these starting points into a new structure throughout 2017. Around the turn of the year 2017/2018 the changes became concrete for most employees and most process changes were implemented.

The new organisational configuration of the RAI went live on 1 February 2018. The new process organisation did not apply to events that took place within three months of this date.

The company reorganisation involved scores of internal moves, which took place over February 2018. This was preceded by an adaptation of the Elicium (floors 6-9) and Amtrium (floors 3-4).

In 2018 the RAI agenda listed many activities in the framework of the ‘We are on’ internal change programme, including:

• Change Leadership (team sessions for managers);
• Fishbowl sessions (open meetings with employees);
• Leader Days;
• Various brainstorming sessions;
• Activation of the seven habits: the habits of RAI employees that represent the desired culture and behaviour.

In 2018 we also prepared a strategy activation programme called 'Museum of the Future’ in which the RAI used a space in which teams and departments are stimulated to start a dialogue on the determined strategy. The museum opened its doors in February 2019.

The event table, an important link in the new process, was evaluated in 2018. It brings together all people involved in an event. The process ensures that people are involved in decisions at an early stage, can contribute their expertise to the innovation of the event and translate decisions made to the event table for their own departments. The evaluation brought forth over 250 recommendations and points for further improvement. One of the strategic pillars of the RAI for the period up to and including 2022 is to be a learning organisation. This means that more evaluations will take place and that commenting on what is not going well in the organisation will be anchored in the cooperation between all RAI departments.

Composition of personnel

Below are some cross-sections of the composition of the RAI’s employees.

RAI Amsterdam has been participating in the work agreement for tackling youth unemployment since 2015. We increase opportunities for unemployed youth by offering the following:

• Deployment and training of around 4,200 flexible workers: opportunities include participating in hospitality courses or obtaining traffic controller certificates;
• Tours: some 300 students from various schools visit the RAI each year to learn about this type of work environment;
• Ninety internships: the RAI’s internal traineeship office places students from the intermediate and higher vocational (MBO and HBO) levels in BBL (vocational learning track), BOL (vocational training) and combined work/education structures. The trainees learn about topics such as job applications, personal branding, time management and Office skills. We organise a RAI Discovery process at the start of the traineeship as well, an introductory day during which the students visit the entire company. Later on, trainees can participate in a DiscoverRAI structure, where they spend a day in other departments to gain knowledge and expand their skillset.

The social involvement of RAI Amsterdam and its employees is also illustrated by the various charities they support.

In the spotlight: Event Operations Management helps the Food Bank
The department excursion of Event Operations Management on 24 May was entirely dedicated to the Food Bank. There is a major distribution point on Lutmastraat, a stone’s throw away from the RAI, where some 150 people pick up a package every week. The department enthusiastically carried out the tasks requested by the Food Bank. The supplies and materials collected by the RAI team, from food to refrigerators, should provide substantial help to the Food Bank in its mission.

Market, events
International business exhibitions and congresses are clearly growing. The revitalisation and development of events for the Dutch public remains a challenge, although good results were achieved here too in 2018. On balance, the long-term outlook for RAI Amsterdam is positive while the expectations for 2019 are moderate in comparison with such a peak year as 2018. This fact has been taken into account in the multi-year forecast and the RAI expects to perform in accordance with that forecast.

The RAI has a well-filled portfolio of events. Nonetheless, it will be a challenge to compensate for the added value lost after 2020, the last year in which ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) will be held at the RAI. Partly for this reason, developing and bringing in new events will be a major area of focus.

While Dutch events are stabilising, everything points to international events continuing to expand. Sustainable innovations will increasingly become an important part of the content of events. The RAI will focus more on the contribution of its events to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Implementation of strategy
The following activities are on our agenda for 2019:

• Portfolio development: organising sales to further meet customer needs, opening one or more offices abroad, optimising our annual agenda and strengthening event communication outside event periods;
• Customer solutions: developing more services and updating our range based on customer journey surveys while developing a new vision and a strategic plan in the field of stand construction;
• Digitisation: translating data products into commercial propositions such as matchmaking and solutions for lead generation;
• Multifunctional area design: completing our 2030 plan for area design, experimenting with temporary functions on the plinth (outside the ground floor) of the convention centre and continuing work on the design of area communication;
• Learning organisation: the implementation of a new phase in strategic personnel planning, the development of a vision on flexibly deployed workers and further work on safeguarding our cultural values;
• Building and infrastructure: further development of a vision on infrastructure together with the City of Amsterdam and the Zuidas organisation, renovation of hall 5, further integration of physical and digital safety & security, development of an innovative logistics concept for the future and deployment of external logistics hubs for dispersing freight traffic.

Developments in direct surroundings
The construction of the convention hotel nhow Amsterdam RAI will be very visible, and the outdoor area will be structured. The building area will become a refined urban environment by the end of 2019.

Organisation
The programme-based approach to the culture and structure process will be further shaped by the executive team in 2019.

Lastly
As mentioned in the foreword, the Executive Board wishes to thank all stakeholders for their efforts and involvement.

We are especially grateful to our employees, who have delivered truly impressive commercial and operational performances while working on the company strategy, culture and structure. We look forward to continuing to work with our teams in 2019 and aim to bring employee satisfaction back to its 2016 level in addition to achieving our operational objectives.

Amsterdam, 26 March 2019

Executive Board of RAI Holding BV,

Paul Riemens, CEO
Maurits van der Sluis, COO

The Executive Board declares that the drawing up of the financial statement is based on the assumption that the company will continue as a going concern.