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 with170,000 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 million visitors are brought together. Trade fairs and exhibitions thus offer a platform for well over 200,000 exhibitors as well as 16 to 17 million visitors.

Furthermore, at the exhibition centres over 10,000 con-gresses and conferences are held annually in the busi-ness-to-business sector with 2.5 million participants. In this connection, an increasing linking of trade fair andcongress activities is evident.

For the conduct of national and international trade fairs around 2.7 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 12 billion a year on their trade fair engagement in Germany. The macroeconomic production effects reach Euro 23.5 billion.

Economic impact of trade fairs in Germany

Around 226,000 jobs are secured through the organization of trade fairs. In the exhibiting companies, on average over 2 persons per company concern themselves with trade fair participations. Based on the current total of around 59,000 companies active at trade fairs in the business-to-busi-ness segment, that represents more than 100,000 full-time jobs.

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German trade fair industry: Functions & outlook [continue]