Germany’s trade fairs recorded a strong first six months of 2023 visitor-wise, according to initial forecasts by the German Trade Fair Industry Association, AUMA.
The association said the six months had seen 180,000 exhibiting companies take part in trade fairs in Germany which had also attracted 13 million visitors. Figures are thus approaching the level prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
Following a short summer break, at the end of August and beginning of September, Gamescom in Cologne, Caravan Salon in Dusseldorf and IFA in Berlin will take place and a further 125 trade fairs are scheduled to take place before the year comes to a close.
Two hundred trade shows took place in Germany during the first six months of the year, with 115,000 exhibiting companies attracting the interest of 6.8m visitors. Compared to the first half of 2022, the number of exhibitors rose by a quarter, while the number of visitors increased by a third.
Jörn Holtmeier (pictured), managing director of the German Trade Fair Industry Association, AUMA, said: “Meanwhile dates for trade fairs in summer are not taking root – a phenomenon that was seen in 2022 due to the backlog. Almost all 2024 trade fair dates will return to their long-established dates, which sit outside the big holiday periods.”
It should be noted that, ast year, after Corona restrictions in Germany came to an end in spring many trade fairs took place in summer, creating a one time trade fair summer 2022. This summer AUMA tells EW it is not seeing so many trade fairs taking place in summer time, and next year expects most trade fairs will take place before and after the big summer holidays – as usual before the pandemic.
AUMA highlights further trends and prospects in the trade fair business in its recently released annual publication, ‘AUMA Trends 2023/2024’. The digital brochure provides a comprehensive overview of the issues affecting the German trade fair industry following the coronavirus pandemic. Interviews reveal the perspective of the exhibiting companies and the expectations of visitors. New competences on the part of exhibition organisers and service providers are discussed. AUMA demonstrates the importance of the industry with facts and figures. An abridged version is now available in English. Download here: https://www.auma.de/en/media/reports/auma-trends-2023-2024
Photo: courtesy of AUMA
