German trade fairs top in Europe

Published on: November 24, 2018 / Updated on: November 26, 2018 – Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

+++ German trade fairs top in Europe +++ Who exhibits at trade fairs? +++ Germany as a trade fair location in international comparison +++ The IFA in comparison +++ The Geneva Motor Show in comparison +++ CeBIT: Far from its former glory +++ Computer trade fair: The CeBIT in comparison +++ Asia dominates CeBIT 2017 +++ Since 2013: Gamescom now attracts more visitors than CeBIT +++ 2013: CeBIT struggles with declining interest +++

The revenue of trade fair organizers in Germany amounted to approximately €3.7 billion in 2017. The highest-grossing trade fair organizers worldwide are Reed Exhibitions (UK), UBM plc (UK), and Messe Frankfurt. The Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) recorded approximately 9.73 million visitors to national and international trade fairs in 2017, 2.9 million of whom came from abroad. According to the association's 2017 annual report, a total of 157 national and international trade fairs were held in Germany. The number of exhibitors at national and international trade fairs in Germany in 2017 exceeded 176,000, a decrease compared to the previous year (192,094). The trade fairs with the largest exhibition hall capacities in Germany are located in Hanover, Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Munich.

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German trade fairs top in Europe

Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial trade fair, attracts thousands of exhibitors. It also ranks among the top three European trade fairs across various product categories, as our infographic based on UFI Euro Fair Statistics shows. Only the ITB tourism trade fair and the Anuga food fair boast more exhibitors across Europe. Hannover is also the only city besides Düsseldorf to host two of the top 10 trade fairs.

The German trade fair industry accounts for the five largest exhibitions on this list and has been growing for several years, particularly thanks to an increasing number of international exhibitors.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Who exhibits at trade fairs?

Although most business transactions can now be conducted online and entrepreneurs can showcase their goods and services on the virtual marketplace, real trade fairs remain an important marketing tool for many industries.

In Germany, according to a survey by the trade fair association AUMA , it is primarily the manufacturing sector (including agriculture and mining) that exhibits at trade fairs. As our infographic shows, service providers lag relatively far behind in second place. Craftspeople are rarely represented at trade fairs.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Germany as a trade fair nation in international comparison

In 2016, US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the Hannover Messe trade fair . The USA was the partner country of the exhibition, which focused on the theme of "Integrated Industry." In fact, the capital of Lower Saxony is the world's largest trade fair location, at least in terms of gross exhibition hall capacity. Frankfurt am Main ranks second. As the graphic shows, according to the industry association AUMA, Germany has a total of four locations among the top ten largest trade fair venues.

This graphic was published on FAZ.NET

You can find more infographics at Statista

IFA in comparison

This year, the International Consumer Electronics Show (IFA) opened its doors in Berlin on August 31st. For six days, visitors were able to familiarize themselves with tomorrow's technology trends. The last edition of the tech fair attracted around 253,000 visitors, making the IFA the largest event of its kind. The Consumer Electronics Show follows at a considerable distance.

You can find more infographics at Statista

The Geneva Motor Show in comparison

2015: It was a sign of renewed strength: Organizers of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit expected one million visitors. The US auto industry was thriving again – and interest in North America's most important auto show rose accordingly. As the graphic for manager magazin showed, this required nearly 200,000 additional visitors to flock to the Cobo Center on the Detroit River compared to 2014.

You can find more infographics at Statista

CEBIT: Far from its former glory

120,000 people attended the first summer CeBIT. The organizers were nonetheless satisfied: "With its new concept, the new CeBIT impressed exhibitors and visitors at its premiere." By comparison, the old CeBIT (spelled as such until 2017) attracted 200,000 visitors to the Hanover exhibition grounds last year. However, calling a five-figure drop in attendance a successful launch for "Europe's business festival for innovation and digitalization" didn't convince everyone, as a report by IT Business demonstrates. In any case, the golden age is now a distant memory – back at the turn of the millennium, when CeBIT attracted up to 800,000 visitors.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Computer trade fair: CeBIT in comparison

It wasn't so long ago that CeBIT was a huge crowd-puller. Around the turn of the millennium, up to 800,000 visitors flocked to Hanover to get a glimpse of the latest technological innovations. For the 2018 edition of the computer trade fair, however, the organizers expected "only" 200,000 visitors. In the end, the actual number was "only" 120,000.

Another indication of CeBIT's declining importance is Microsoft's decision to forgo its own booth. Instead, the software giant is expanding its presence at the Hannover Messe. The company will also have its own booth at IFA. For Microsoft, CeBIT is now just "one of several trade fairs," according to a company spokesperson. The once largest computer trade fair in the world has been reduced to a run-of-the-mill event.

The decline could also be due to the shift towards attracting trade visitors. While the downward trend seems to have stopped, the trade fair will not be able to regain the luster of its former glory. On the contrary, it risks becoming a mediocre, purely business-oriented event. The big names have long since moved elsewhere, for example to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona or the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, both of which have significantly increased their visitor numbers over the last ten years. The idea of ​​Microsoft unveiling a new version of Windows at CeBIT – as happened in 1995 – is currently unthinkable.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Asia dominated CeBIT in 2017

Japan was the partner country of CeBIT 2017, but most of the foreign companies at the technology trade fair came from China, as an analysis of the exhibitor directory shows. According to the directory, 489 companies from China traveled to Hanover. Taken together, Asia accounted for over 50 percent of the exhibitors headquartered outside Germany. The USA ranked third with 76 representatives. From our immediate neighbors, Swiss and Italian companies were particularly well represented at CeBIT. The local technology sector was present with a total of 1,602 exhibitors.

You can find more infographics at Statista

Since 2013: Gamescom now attracts more visitors than CeBIT

Cologne is home to Gamescom, Europe's leading trade fair for digital games culture. In 2015, organizers reported over 800 exhibitors from more than 45 countries, setting a new record. This record was also achieved in visitor numbers, following a slight decline the previous year. Even then, Gamescom attracted more visitors than CeBIT, which last surpassed Gamescom in 2012.

You can find more infographics at Statista

2013: CeBIT struggles with dwindling interest

The world's largest computer trade fair has been held every spring since 1986. In recent years, CeBIT has increasingly struggled with declining public interest. In 2012, for example, "only" 312,000 people visited the fair. By comparison, in 2004 and 2008, the number was almost 500,000.

You can find more infographics at Statista

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