Trends in the German trade fair Industry published

27.09.2024

Alliances are getting stronger, cooperation among trade fair organisers is increasing. This is one of eight current trends in the trade fair industry in Germany, according to the annual publication ‘AUMA Trends 2024/2025’

It has been published by the association of the German trade fair industry AUMA - now also available in English.The annual publication provides an overview of the issues affecting the industry at the world's number one trade fair venue. The AUMA team has distilled the trends in the German trade fair industry from surveys, observations and discussions. AUMA uses facts and figures to document the development of the German trade fair industry. An update on the sustainable transformation of the industry is also provided. The report concludes with an article on the modernisation of AUMA, the umbrella association of the German trade fair industry.

Jörn Holtmeier, managing director of the AUMA says: “The recent geopolitical crises and conflicts in particular call for new ideas for trade and business. The German trade fair industry is offering new marketplaces with impressive speed. Trade fair formats are evolving, addressing new target groups and focusing on the market. Change has always been and remains a constant companion of the German trade fair industry.”

Key figures for the first half of the year up
The first half of 2024 was extraordinarily successful for trade fairs in Germany, as initial surveys by the 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 in light of the numerous strikes in local, rail and air transport in Germany in the first quarter, which affected 50 trade fairs. Exhibition space on the exhibition grounds increased by seven percent to 4.2 million square metres.

Around 130 trade fairs are planned throughout Germany in the second half of the year. These include the European trade fair for packaging, technology and processing Fachpack in Nuremberg (24 to 26 September), the international trade fair for plastics processing Fakuma 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 UFI World Congress of the Exhibition Industry will also be held in Germany again. The top meeting of the organising and exhibiting industry will take place in Cologne from 20 to 23 November.