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AUMA Annual Press Conference
All key indicators of German trade fairs positive in 2006
Foreign trade fairs of German organizers register double-digit growth
06.08.2007 German trade fairs are becoming more attractive again for trade and private visitors. For the first time since 2000, all the key indicators of the 159 international trade fairs in Germany were positive in 2006, the number of visitors even increased by 3.4% on average in comparison with the respective previous events. This was emphasized by Dr. Peter Neven, Managing Director of the AUMA - Association of the German Trade Fair Industry - at the association’s annual press conference on 28th June 2007 in Berlin.
The good economic situation, especially in the investment goods sector, has given the trade fairs in Germany decisive impulses, according to Dr. Neven. But also the mood among consumers has brightened, even though there is still a certain resistance to buying. At the international trade fairs, in particular, the numbers of visitors have improved on a scale that could hardly have been expected: In 2005 a decline of 2.2% was still being recorded. AUMA’s managing director: “Above all, the visits to international public exhibitions is experiencing a renaissance, but also many specialist trade fairs are registering increasing numbers of visitors. The positive balance of public exhibitions which are strongly characterized by visitors from Germany, shows that the growth in the sector is not only based on increasing foreign interest”.
With respect to the growth in exhibitor numbers, the development of foreign participations continues to dominate, however. They increased by 2.4% compared to previous events, while the domestic participation merely recorded a constant result. The total number of exhibitors grew by 1.3%.
Rented space only increased slightly, on average by 0.7%, the compa-rable figure was +0.6% in 2005. Apparently companies are continuing to be cautious when booking stand space. According to Dr. Neven, instead they are investing more money in the design of the stands and in the preparations of the stand personnel, who are often not accustomed to the competitive situation which prevails at a trade fair this situation is basically that of a marketplace, the original of business-to-business communication. Correspondingly, the organizers are increasing their offers of supplementary services for exhibitors and strengthening personalized visitor marketing on the basis of visitor registrations. He said that there are considerable opportunities in the consistent use of this instrument, in particular, to increase the numbers of visitors in the business-to-business area and to increase customer loyalty.
In absolute terms, the year 2006 looks as follows: at the 159 interna-tional trade fairs in 2006, a total of 171,507 exhibitors were registered, 82.451 from Germany and 89,056 from abroad. In total, 6.54 mill. m² of stand space was rented out. The number of visitors reached 9.73 mill. In 2006, according to the provisional figures, the trade fair organizers resident in Germany registered a turnover volume of 2.45 billion Euro, following a figure of 2.35 billion Euro the previous year. The reasons for this increase, above all, were the considerably higher level of rented space compared to the previous year, but also the significant growth in turnover with own trade fairs abroad.
Prospects for 2007
At the beginning of 2007, numerous fairs registered significant in-creases in their key indicators. In particular, the surprisingly strong eco-nomic growth and the good medium-term forecasts create a positive prevailing mood for more trade fair participations and trade fair visits. AUMA expects that around 163,000 exhibitors will participate at the total of 141 international trade fairs, 2 - 3% more than at the respective previous events. The rented space at the trade fairs will probably increase on average by 1 - 2% and in total will amount to over 6.5 million square metres. The number of visitors will probably be about 10.3 million, 1 - 2% more than at the previous events. That would mean – due to the composition of the trade fair programme – that the 10 million visitor barrier would again be broken for the first time since 2001.
AUMA wants to position trade fairs more clearly
In view of the intense competition, it is not always taken into account within the industry, according to Dr. Neven, that the main competitors of the German trade fairs are often located abroad and that trade fairs are in fierce competition for attention in the areas of business and politics. AUMA, therefore, wants to invest an increasing share of its budget in marketing activities. Because fairs are one of the few dialogue medias which also live up to this name. This must be firmly established in the minds of the marketing experts in industry. AUMA will build up a network of professors who concern themselves particularly intensively with the trade fair industry. In addition, it is examining possibilities of permanently expanding its research activities and systematically supporting trade fair research projects of universities.
More German companies at foreign fairs
As Marco Springer, head of the Global Markets department, empha-sized the trade fair presence of German companies abroad is growing continuously. At the end of the 1990s, 23% of the companies exhibiting in Germany were also present at trade fairs in other European countries. Now the figure is 35%. In terms of presence at trade fairs overseas the increase has been even greater, from 12% to 20% today. Outside of Europe, those regions feature most prominently for exhibi-tors which also dominate in terms of exports, for example, China and India. Small and medium-sized companies are also being increasingly attracted to these countries. The opening-up of markets there, however, is particularly complex and risky for smaller companies. The foreign fair programme of the German Federal Government, therefore, concentrates mainly on countries and regions in which small and medium-sized companies require special support. For 2008, par-ticipations of the Ministry of Economics are planned at 240 trade fairs. The most important target region is South, East and Central Asia with 108 trade fairs, of which 60 will be in China and Hong Kong, as well as 12 in India, 7 in Singapore and 4 in Malaysia. The second most important region in the Programme consists of the European countries outside the EU, in particular, Russia with 40 par-ticipations out of the total of 56. In the Middle East next year there will be 33 participation, of which 24 will be in the United Arab Emirates.
Strong growth at foreign trade fairs of German organizers
The foreign trade fairs of the German organizers generally registered double-digit growth rates in 2006. Last year 198 trade fairs were conducted abroad, that was 20% more than the previous year. 1.8 mill. m² of stand space was rented out, 50% more than in 2005. The reasons for this were both the growing number of trade fairs and the expansion of the individual events and fluctuations resulting from the rotation of events. More than 71,000 exhibitors rep-resented a growth of about 39% compared with the previous year. The number of visitors also increased: following 3.4 mill. visitors in 2005, no less than 4.7 mill. were registered in 2006 (+41%). In 2007, a total of 19 members of AUMA want to conduct 222 trade fairs all over the world. The most important target countries for German organizers continue to be China (68), Russia (32), the United Arab Emirates (17) and India (13). The most important cities are Shanghai with 36 fairs, Moscow with 27 and Dubai with 17 events.
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Press contact:
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Harald Koetter, phone: +49/30/24 000-140, fax: +49/30/24 000-340, email: h.koetter@auma.de
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