Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) is one of the largest and most modern exhibition venues in Central Asia, located in Tashkent opposite the Olympic Village. As a member of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), CAEx hosts a continuous calendar of international trade shows spanning agriculture, food and HoReCa, automotive, construction, healthcare, textiles, and innovation. With over 40,000 square meters of business space and a state-of-the-art 18,000-square-meter exhibition pavilion featuring 11-meter ceilings and a floor load capacity of 3 tons per square meter, the venue accommodates everything from intimate conferences to large-scale industrial expos. Behind every successful exhibition at CAEx, a specialized workforce makes international business possible: models, interpreters, stand assistants, and hostesses.
Models: Visual Anchors for Brand Presentation
Exhibitions at CAEx span diverse sectors—from beauty and fashion to automotive and industrial equipment—and models serve as visual representatives across this spectrum. At events like the Tashkent Fashion & Textile Expo, which draws participants from Turkey, China, Russia, and Uzbekistan, models are integral to showcasing textile products and apparel collections. At consumer-facing events such as Beautyworld Tashkent and the automotive shows, models stand beside product displays, engage with visitors, and help draw attention in exhibition halls where hundreds of exhibitors compete for visibility.
Tashkent has an established modeling industry serving the events sector. Agencies such as ProModel Agency provide casting services for exhibitions, photo and video shoots, fashion shows, promotional events, and presentations, explicitly recognizing that trade exhibitions require professional models who can represent brands with style and confidence.
Interpreters: Bridging the International Divide
CAEx’s international stature makes interpreters indispensable. Events hosted at the venue bring together companies and delegations from more than 20 countries, including Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Germany. For exhibitions like INNOPROM Central Asia, which expected over 10,000 participants and delegates in 2026, and Automechanika Tashkent, which drew 489 exhibitors from 15 countries, interpretation services facilitate commercial negotiations and technical discussions.
The linguistic demands vary by event. At Automechanika Tashkent, automotive terminology requires precision: engine component specifications, diagnostic system capabilities, and EV charging protocols must be rendered accurately across languages. At CAEx Food & HoReCa, food industry terminology—ingredient specifications, packaging standards, and HoReCa equipment parameters—demands equal precision.
Tashkent’s exhibition ecosystem supports this need through specialized interpretation services. Local interpreters offer exhibition support including presence at the booth alongside client staff, participation in meetings and business negotiations, and accompaniment during international events. For national pavilions hosting multiple companies under one umbrella, shared interpretation services help manage costs while ensuring effective communication across delegations.
Stand Assistants: The Operational Core
Stand assistants at CAEx perform the functional work that keeps exhibition booths productive. Their responsibilities include registering visitors, collecting contact information, distributing product samples and brochures, managing visitor flow, and directing inquiries to the appropriate sales or technical staff.
For brands exhibiting at CAEx events, stand assistants often perform a qualification function. At Automechanika Tashkent, where 20,728 visitors attended in 2025, a visitor approaching a booth may be a potential distributor, a service station owner, a fleet operator, or a journalist. A skilled stand assistant can quickly assess visitor intent and route them appropriately, allowing sales directors and technical experts to focus on high-value conversations.
The scale of CAEx events creates unique operational demands. With major exhibitions like INNOPROM drawing over 10,000 participants and occupying 18,000 square meters of exhibition space, efficient visitor management is critical. Stand assistants help brands capture leads in an environment where exhibitors compete for the attention of decision-makers who directly influence procurement and partnership decisions.
Hostesses: The First Point of Contact
Hostesses serve as the welcoming face of exhibition stands at CAEx. Their primary function is to greet visitors, create a positive first impression, and initiate conversations that can lead to deeper engagement with the brand’s representatives.
At CAEx, the hostess role carries particular weight because of the professional and international nature of the visitor base. The venue’s event calendar includes high-level gatherings such as the joint exhibition organized during the state visit of the President of Tajikistan, which featured over 180 companies from Uzbekistan and more than 30 companies from Tajikistan, with over 500 representatives of business circles expected daily. For such events, a warm, professional welcome sets a tone that reflects organizational competence and bilateral cooperation.
Language proficiency is a key requirement for hostesses working at CAEx. Russian fluency is essential for engaging the majority of visitors, while Uzbek proficiency is a valuable additional asset. English proficiency is increasingly sought after by international exhibitors. Job listings for exhibition hostesses in Tashkent typically require Russian language knowledge as mandatory, with Uzbek and English listed as desirable qualifications, along with requirements including age 18 to 25, height of at least 165 centimeters, well-groomed appearance, competent speech, and stress tolerance.
Practical Considerations for Exhibitors
Exhibitors planning staff for events at CAEx should recognize that these roles serve distinct functions and require different skill sets. Models need to combine professional presentation with basic product familiarity. Interpreters require specialized vocabulary tailored to the specific industry sector of the exhibition. Stand assistants need operational reliability and crowd management abilities. Hostesses need warmth, professionalism, and often multilingual capabilities.
The recruitment process for major brands typically involves casting calls for models and hostesses through local agencies, while interpreters and stand assistants may be sourced through staffing agencies, professional networks, or direct recruitment. For international exhibitors, the demand is for bilingual or trilingual staff who can handle business conversations, not just simple greetings.
CAEx’s calendar of events spans the full year, with major exhibitions including Tashkent Fashion & Textile Expo, CAEx Mebel & Décor, TIHE healthcare exhibition, Automechanika Tashkent, and CAEx Build & Co. The professionals who staff these events—models, interpreters, stand assistants, and hostesses—are not peripheral to the experience. They are the human interface between international business and the Central Asian market, and between complex industrial technologies and the professionals who come to evaluate, negotiate, and partner.
CAEx Exhibition Centre is located at 1 Milliy Bog Street, Tashkent, opposite the Olympic Village.
