Messe Stuttgart has restarted its business in China and is reporting a positive response to its first events.
Holiday and leisure show CMT China was staged in Nanjing in September and Education+ will follow in October.
CMT China is a spin-off of the parent exhibition CMT in Stuttgart. It took place 18-20 September and attracted 213 exhibitors from China and other countries, including Argentina, South Korea and Tunisia.
Around 40,000 visitors came to the exhibition, which occupied 30,000sqm of space, including an ‘Outdoor RV Experience Area’ for leisure vehicles.
Organisers expect 122 exhibitors to attend Education+, which will occupy 15,000sqm, including forums and a conference. A press conference for AMTech, which is in the event calendar for 2021, was also held at the beginning of September.
Messe Stuttgart reports two smaller events were staged in the run-up to CMT China: the CMT China Selected Camping and Caravanning Brands Series Events in May, with 22 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors. It was repeated in July with 31 exhibitors and 5,000 visitors. The Nanjing Home Decoration and Main Material (Furniture) Expo was also held in July and attracted just over 100 exhibitors and 32,000 visitors.
Roland Bleinroth, CEO of Messe Stuttgart reported positive news concerning R+T Asia in Shanghai. “It will take place 24-26 March 2021, i.e back at its normal time in March. We have already started to acquire national exhibitors. The acquisition of international exhibitors will begin very shortly,” Bleinroth added. Since the entry restrictions for China are still very strict at present, a large number of international visitors is not expected. A hybrid platform with the project name ‘R+T Asia Connect’ is planned so that international visitors will be able to use the platform to contact companies and obtain information about the exhibited products.
The homepage of the Association of the German Tradefair Industry (AUMA) tags the various tradefairs that have already been successfully staged in China since July. All have been held in accordance with strict hygiene regulations, including the obligatory wearing of a face covering, registering of visitors and measuring their temperature on the tradefair grounds.
“Even though the number of exhibitors was lower at times than at previous events, the tradefairs that were staged are regarded as prime examples both for the successful restart after months of uncertainty and for the successful digital supplements, such as additional virtual platforms and live streams at the real event,” said Bleinroth.
“This positive development gives Germany and especially Messe Stuttgart hope that the tradefair business in this country will also soon get back to normal,” he added.
With a turnover of almost €180m, Messe Stuttgart is one of Germany's leading tradefair companies, hosting up to 1.36m visitors over a hall area of 120,000sqm.
Photo: CMT China, a spin-off of the parent exhibition CMT in Stuttgart, attracted 213 exhibitors from China and other countries, e.g. Argentina, South Korea and Tunisia. (Copyright: Messe Stuttgart)
