For its 50th anniversary, Germany’s NürnbergMesse says it is set to achieve record sales of over €350m in 2024. This milestone comes after a strong performance in 2023, where the company recorded €265m in sales, nearly matching pre-pandemic levels.
Last year, the NürnbergMesse Group hosted 150 events worldwide, attracting over 28,000 exhibitors and 1.3m visitors onto 904,466sqm of net space. “Our trade fair business recovered from the pandemic far faster than expected and is growing very nicely. Given this tailwind, in our jubilee year we’re aiming to set a new sales record, and are also investing in our future,” said NürnbergMesse Group CEO Peter Ottmann.
The distribution of group sales in 2023 was: 29% from own and partner events, 28% from guest events and NürnbergConvention, 23% from MesseService, and 20% from international operations. With 150 events held worldwide, NürnbergMesse averaged three events each week. This year, the company plans to host 137 events, with 68 taking place in Nuremberg.
Following the successful 2023 acquisition of trade fair organiser trendfairs, the events portfolio now includes five high-level speciality trade fairs in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, focusing on kitchen and interior design. An exciting new addition is the NürnbergMesse Christkindlesmarkt in Bengaluru, India, organised by subsidiary NürnbergMesse India.
NürnbergMesse is investing heavily in its Exhibition Centre and services to mark its jubilee year. Parts of the Exhibition Centre, which have been in operation since the company’s founding in 1974, will undergo significant updates with more than €50m allocated for improvements in 2024.
This includes modernising the infrastructure and striving for a CO₂ neutral power supply by 2028. By mid-2025, 21,000 photovoltaic modules installed on seven exhibition halls and a parking building will generate 9m kilowatt-hours of solar electricity annually, enough to power a town with 7,000 inhabitants.
The number of electric charging stations on-site will increase from 40 to 200 by 2026. Additional investments include a new power-to-heat system and further digitalisation of products and services.
The company continues to prioritise digitalisation. Services contributed over €70m in sales last year, accounting for more than one third of NürnbergMesse GmbH’s total sales. The company plans to increase this figure by expanding its e-commerce offerings.
Investments are also planned for IT systems and the expansion of artificial intelligence capabilities in the coming years.
Nuremberg remains a top exhibition destination for startups, offering shared pavilions at around 50 trade fairs, including those supported by the German government. NürnbergMesse’s partnerships with BayStartUP and startup hub ZOLLHOF show its commitment to fostering innovation and supporting the regional economy.
For more information, visit: https://www.nuernbergmesse.de
