Trade fairs and all-weather tires
The German trade fair industry is a heavyweight - not only in Germany, not only in Europe. It is the number one location for international trade fairs worldwide, with around 180,000 exhibitors and ten million visitors per year as well as 230,000 jobs secured by the industry. Of the ten highest-grossing trade fair companies in the world, five are headquartered in Germany. The overall effect of trade fairs on economic production amounts to € 28 billion, with German trade fair companies generating revenues of about € 4 billion a year.
At least that was once the case. Since March 2020, the industry has recorded losses of 55 billion euros. Thanks to the pandemic, thanks to the consequences of the war.
This is the case for many industries that have been struggling to get back on their feet, more or less successfully, ever since. The trade fair industry is one of the more successful ones. Many countries are already recording well above-average figures for trade fair sales this year: Great Britain is reaching 89 percent of its 2019 level, Italy 86 percent, Saudi Arabia 85 percent. Globally, the trade fair market is picking up, with very strong momentum in the U.S. and Central and South America. The Middle East has taken on some strong exhibition brands. And us?
Germany is the last of the major trade show markets in Europe to reopen. Spain, Italy, France and Great Britain were significantly faster - and are now benefiting from it. This has been made possible above all by political backing in these countries. While the International Tourism Fair ITB in Berlin, the world's leading tourism trade show, had to be cancelled three times in a row, around the same time, the competing fair in Madrid invited visitors to network and do business - and registered attendance numbers like never before.
In the meantime, however, the German trade fair organisers are also in the midst of a relaunch, and with very good success. This year, starting with the ISM, many more trade fair events in Cologne have proven this. With gamescom, we are now showing that large consumer trade fairs with six-figure visitor numbers are also possible again.
领英推荐
We are back, but in the midst of the mood of optimism, worries are growing again. At the beginning of August, the German government presented the new Corona protection strategy for the fall: described as "winter tires" for the Corona-critical fall and winter, with possible tightening through "snow chains". It also envisages, if necessary, caps for people at indoor events - i.e. including trade fairs. The tightened measures will be imposed by the state governments. Once again, as is so often the case in Germany, there is the threat of a patchwork of measures that do not apply nationwide and, from our organizers' point of view, are neither understandable nor justified.
After all, the trade fair industry can proudly claim: we have long had all-weather tires. Just recently, for example, Koelnmesse won the Operations and Services Award from the UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, for its #B-SAFE4business safety strategy, which enables us to organise smooth trade fair operations even during a pandemic.
Trade fairs thrive on exchange and communication, but also on planning security. Any uncertainty among exhibiting companies and visitors has devastating consequences for an industry that is of existential importance for the international business of many medium-sized companies. If exhibitors from Germany and around the world cannot be confident that capacity restrictions and entry restrictions are off the table, the number one location for international trade fairs worldwide will lose more than just its good reputation.
This requires a clear political commitment to Germany as a trade fair location. All over the world, we see political decision-makers who have understood that trade fairs are part of the solution: we contribute in a safe way, with well thought-out and proven hygiene concepts, to the recovery of the economy and society during and after the pandemic. If they let us.
Great post!