Key figures for the trade fair industry
There are so many new topics in business and society, including controversial ones, and there is an urgent need for dialogue and platforms for explanation and discussion. Trade fairs are one of these important meeting places. They are essential for driving change.
Outlook 2025
More than 310 trade fairs are planned in Germany in 2025 - including more than 160 leading national or international trade fairs for the industry sectors. The high importance of trade fairs is confirmed by the current AUMA survey of 400 exhibiting companies, the AUMA Exhibitor Outlook 2025/26. More than three quarters of respondents want to organise as many or more trade fairs this year and next. However, the ongoing mix of recession, inflation and political uncertainties is making the decision to participate in trade fairs increasingly dynamic.
315
Trade fairs
planned in Germany.
162
Leading trade fairs
national or international economic sectors in Germany.
78%
of the companies
are planning the same number or more trade fair participations in 2025.
Review 2024
The German trade fair industry gained significant momentum in 2024. All key figures show clear growth compared to the respective previous events. A total of 322 trade fairs took place last year - including 176 international and national events and 138 regional events. Eight trade fairs celebrated their premiere in 2024, with topics such as IT & digitalisation, finance, logistics and luxury foods.
Around 70 trade fair venues in Germany provided a platform for more than 204,000 exhibiting companies - an increase of 9.2 per cent compared to the respective previous events. Over 11.7 million visitors were counted, which corresponds to an increase of 3.2 per cent. The amount of stand space occupied also increased significantly to almost 7.2 million square metres (+7.2 percent).
322
Trade fairs
took place in total in 2024.
204.310
The company
exhibited at around 70 exhibition centres in Germany in 2024.
9,2%
Plus
of exhibitors compared to previous events.
The German trade fair market
Home of the trade fair and centre of attraction for the world: today there are a good 70 trade fair venues between Husum on the North Sea and Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance, between Leipzig in the east and Essen in the west. Many of the world's industry trade fairs take place here. There are currently around 3.25 million square metres of hall space available on the exhibition grounds in Germany. The 24 exhibition centres of national or international importance account for 2.78 million square metres of hall space. This hall space will remain largely constant over the next few years. Priority will be given to investing in quality, sustainability and energy efficiency. In addition, around 468,000 square metres of hall space is available at exhibition venues with a regionally oriented trade fair programme.
Gross exhibition capacity* in m²
| City | Hall | Open-air site |
| Hanover | 392.453 | 58.000 |
| Frankfurt/M | 391.554 | 64.326 |
| Cologne | 290.000 | 100.000 |
| Düsseldorf | 262.727 | 43.000 |
| Munich | 200.000 | 414.000 |
| Berlin ExpoCenter City with CityCube | 190.000 | 157.000 |
| Nuremberg | 180.000 | 50.000 |
| Stuttgart | 119.800 | 40.000 |
| Leipzig | 111.300 | 70.000 |
| Essen | 110.000 | 20.000 |
| Friedrichshafen | 87.500 | 35.500 |
| Hamburg | 87.000 | 10.000 |
| Dortmund | 63.000 | 10.000 |
| City | Hall | Open-air site |
| Karlsruhe | 60.000 | 105.000 |
| Augsburg | 54.550 | 10.000 |
| Bremen | 39.000 | 100.000 |
| Berlin Estrel Congress Centre (ECC) | 30.000 | |
| Munich Exhibition Centre (MOC) | 28.765 | |
| Erfurt | 24.120 | 21.600 |
| Freiburg | 21.500 | 81.000 |
| Offenbach | 20.100 | |
| Wiesbaden | 10.000 | |
| Husum | 4.800 | 70.000 |
| Idar-Oberstein | 4.450 | 900 |
*Exhibition centres with at least one regularly held event in the AUMA categories international or national/status: April 2025
Download graphic: Exhibition Centre Germany 2025: Exhibition capacities. - In an earlier version, the order of the Berlin Estrel Congress Centre and Messe Bremen was unfortunately reversed. This error has been corrected here. We apologise for the oversight.
Comparison with the global trade fair market: Germany's role among the top exhibition centres
According to the International Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), there are around 1,360 exhibition centres worldwide and 31,000 trade fairs per year. Four of the world's ten largest exhibition centres are located in Germany: Hanover, Frankfurt/Main, Cologne and Düsseldorf. Of more than 40 million square metres of exhibition hall space worldwide, over three million are in Germany. Several German trade fair organisers are among the top 10 in the international turnover rankings.
The 176 international and national trade fairs compared to their prevoius events
Strong foreign interest in German trade fairs
Germany is the leading trade fair centre in the world - also in terms of the high level of internationality on the exhibitor and visitor side: 2.46 million visitors from abroad alone came to the 176 national and international trade fairs in Germany in 2024 (34%). Specifically, most trade fair visitors in Germany recently came from the Netherlands (211,000), Italy (176,000), Austria (152,000), Switzerland (148,000) and China (120,000).
Germany also remains the leader in terms of exhibitors at national and international trade fairs between Husum and Friedrichshafen, Essen and Leipzig: in 2024, a total of 107,370 foreign companies exhibited at the 176 national and international trade fairs. The leading exhibitor nation is the People's Republic of China (20,630 companies), followed at some distance by Italy (10,690), the Netherlands (around 5,020), Turkey (4,920) and France (4,820).
Regional trade fairs in Germany
A dense network of regional trade fairs for trade visitors and the general public complements the international and national trade fairs. Regional trade and speciality fairs as well as leisure and hobby fairs have proven their relevance. For local people, they are central meeting points, information exchanges and sources of inspiration for all facets of daily life. They reflect trends and needs - and showcase innovations that come from the region for the region.
Almost 40,000 exhibiting companies took part in the 138 regional events in the 2024 trade fair year. They occupied a stand area of around 1.3 million square metres and attracted around 4.5 million visitors. Compared to the respective previous events, there was a slight increase: the number of exhibitors rose by 1.7 per cent. The amount of rented stand space grew minimally by 0.2 per cent. Visitor numbers, on the other hand, fell: a drop of around 3 per cent was recorded.
According to the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA), the main reason for the drop in visitor numbers is the repeated rail and public transport strikes, which affected more than 50 events across Germany, particularly in the trade fair-intensive first quarter of 2024. According to estimates, up to 250,000 potential guests stayed away as a result - an average decline of eleven per cent at the affected trade fairs compared to previous years.
138
Trade fairs
with a regional catchment area.
39.900
The company
exhibited at regional trade fairs in 2024.
1,3
million
square metres of stand space were occupied at regional trade fairs.
4.5
million
visitors attended regional trade fairs in 2024.
Foreign activities of the German economy
In addition to participating in trade fairs in Germany, German companies also make considerable use of trade fairs abroad for their export marketing. On average, German companies take part in ten trade fairs within two years: six of them in Germany and four abroad.
Foreign trade fair programme
German companies that exhibit at trade fairs abroad secure and strengthen the export of German goods and services. With its foreign trade fair programme, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular. At trade fairs - primarily outside the EU - the BMWE organises the "German Pavilions" (joint stands of the Federal Government) under its umbrella brand "made in Germany". AUMA Association of the German Trade Fair Industry i is involved in the planning of the German Pavilions and coordinates the interests of industry vis-à-vis the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) supports the BMWE in the technical implementation of joint stands as part of the foreign trade fair programme.
Trade fairs abroad organised by German companies
The German trade fair companies, which are members of AUMA and FAMA, organise over 300 trade fairs of their own on all continents every year. In many cases, trade fair concepts that have proved successful in Germany are transferred abroad. All key figures for German trade fairs abroad increased regularly in the years before the coronavirus pandemic - apart from fluctuations due to rotation. AUMA supports these trade fairs abroad with the "German Trade Fair Quality Abroad" quality label.
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