Another 130 trade fairs by the end of 2024
Key figures for the first half of the year up - despite various strikes
Organiser outlook published: industry sees AI as an opportunity
Berlin, 19 August 2024 | After the summer break, business life begins again this week at around 70 trade fair venues in Germany. The world's largest event for computer and video games, Gamescom, kicks off in Cologne (21 to 25 August). The 130 trade fairs up to the end of the year include the AMB international trade fair for metalworking in Stuttgart (10 to 14 September), the Fakuma international trade fair for plastics processing in Friedrichshafen (15 to 19 October) and the leading trade fair for professional animal husbandry Eurotier in Hanover (12 to 15 November). After more than 20 years, the World Congress of the Exhibition Industry will also be back in Germany. The top meeting of the organising and exhibiting industry will take place in Cologne from 20 to 23 November.
The first half of 2024 was extraordinarily successful for trade fairs in Germany, as initial surveys by the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) show: Compared to the same period last year, the 188 trade fairs between January and June already attracted 120,000 exhibiting companies (+7 per cent) and 6.7 million visitors (+1 per cent). The positive results are remarkable against the backdrop of a number of strikes in local, rail and air transport in the first quarter, which affected 50 trade fairs. According to AUMA projections, up to 250,000 fewer people travelled to trade fairs as a result, which is an average of eleven percent fewer visitors than at the previous event. Meanwhile, exhibition space on the exhibition grounds increased by seven per cent to 4.2 million square metres.
- Philip Harting, Chairman of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA): "Three things stand out about the first half of the year: The leading trade fairs in Germany are attracting the world like never before. The internationality of our exhibitors and visitors has rarely been higher. These days we are pleased to see that more and more decision-makers are visiting trade fairs. This means that quality is increasing and trade fair concepts are moving with the times. And after the international and national trade fairs in this country, the many regional trade fairs are now also recovering after the deep blow of the coronavirus pandemic. They are important for the local economy and end consumers. This all shows how important trade fairs are as hubs."
The new AUMA Organiser Outlook 2024/2025 shows the current challenges facing the trade fair organising industry. In addition to coping with a number of cost increases (1st place), attracting visitors (2nd) and exhibitors (3rd) after the pandemic is on the list of priorities. In addition, the tense economic situation in Germany is currently seen as a sticking point (4).
A total of 81 per cent of the 170 trade fair organisers surveyed stated that new requirements from visitors and exhibitors will necessitate greater investment in technology and personnel. The survey also shows that the German trade fair industry sees artificial intelligence (AI) as an opportunity: A total of 63 per cent have a positive attitude towards the new technologies, while less than four per cent see AI as a risk.
