German trade fair industry

Economic significance | Structure | Functions | German trade fair competence | Outlook | German Trade Fair Quality Abroad (GTQ) |

Economic significance of the German trade fair industry

The trade fair centre Germany is No. 1 worldwide in the conduct of international trade fairs. Of the leading global trade fairs of the individual sectors, around two-thirds are held in Germany. Annually around 150 international trade fairs with 160,000 to 170,000 exhibitors and 9 to 10 million visitors are organized. The most important positive feature of the German trade fairs is their internationality: more than half of the exhibitors come from abroad, of this total one-third from countries outside Europe. Of the visitors, almost one-fifth come from abroad, of this total about 30% from overseas.

In addition, there is a dense network of regional trade and consumer exhibitions, which represent an important supplement to the international trade fairs. At the events which are organized by companies belonging to the membership of AUMA, alone, over 50,000 exhibitors and 6.5 million visitors are brought together. Trade fairs and exhibitions thus offer a platform for well over 200,000 exhibitors as well as 16 to 18 million visitors.

Furthermore, over 10,000 congresses and conferences are held annually in the business-to-business sector. In this connection, an increasing linking of trade fair and congress activities is evident. Congresses and conferences accompanying trade fairs attract around 400,000 visitors annually; together with the participants at events unrelated to trade fairs, almost 1.9 million participants are registered.

For the conduct of national and international trade fairs around 2.72 million sq.m. of hall space is available at 22 German exhibition centres. Three of the five largest exhibition centres in the world are located in Germany. For the German companies, trade fairs are among the most important instruments in business-to-business communication. In total, exhibitors and visitors spend around Euro 11 billion a year on their trade fair engagement in Germany. The macroeconomic production effects reach Euro 23.5 billion. Around 226,000 jobs are secured through the organization of trade fairs: Press release: Trade fairs boost annual output of German economy by EUR 23 billion.

update 1/2010

German trade fair industry: Significance, functions and outlook [continue]

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