Foreign trade fairs enjoy double-figure growth
German organisers are on the winning side of globalisation and are reaping the benefits of the hefty increase in trade between both Europe and Asia and the EU and Russia.
For the first time the AUMA has conducted a detailed survey of the data of foreign exhibitions hosted by German organisers in a year-on-year comparison. After all, trade fairs abroad are increasingly providing a second important source of income. They already account for more than 10 % of the total business volume of German organisers.
In 2005 around 1.35 mio. m2 of stand space was rented at the 166 trade fairs that German companies organised abroad, up 30 % from 2004. This is due to the growing number of exhibitions, expansion of individual events, but also to the frequency of trade fairs. Nearly 54,000 exhibitors - that is an increase of 18 % over the previous year. The number of visitors has increased, too: 3 million visitors in 2004 was topped by 3.4 million in 2005.
This year AUMA members intend to stage 200 trade fairs on every continent. Countries particularly targeted are China (63), Russia (28), India (14) and the United Arab Emirates (13). The most important cities are: Shanghai (37 trade fairs), Moscow (25), Dubai (13) and Beijing (12). "Germany is benefiting considerably from the hefty growth in trade between both Europe and Asia and the EU and Russia. The eased trade restrictions in eastern Europe and East Asia have also made it much easier to stage exhibitions in these regions", is how Thomas H. Hagen, chairman of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA) explains this rapid development.
Globalisation is also strengthening German trade fairs. AUMA surveys show that the number of exhibitors and visitors from PR China at German exhibitions has more than doubled in the last five years. "The trade fair location Germany is also providing a sales and procurement platform for China. Not only are Chinese exports to Germany growing but in the last five years German exports to China have virtually doubled, too", explains Hagen. He points to similar developments in relations with India and Russia, albeit at a lower level. "Had German exhibitions merely concentrated on the national or EU market they would have lost exhibitors and visitors in abundance." The higher than average economic growth in eastern Europe and East Asia is a central contributory factor to German exhibitors trade fair success abroad.
Internationalism is a guarantee of quality. Without quality you cannot survive long-term against international competition. German organisers are essentially strong enough for this. Organiser mergers and a marked increase in capacity in other countries will not necessarily strengthen a company's position in the exhibition market, according to Hagen. The ability to develop and maintain internationally renowned fairs is not directly linked to the size of a company or any particular ownership structures, but rather to long-term strategy and a nose for market trends." Of course, he has to admit that "financial clout makes it that much easier to put such concepts into practice." But the strong position of the German trade fair industry can only be maintained if trade fairs and organisers do not weaken each other at a national level.
m+a report Nr.4 / 2006 vom 15.06.2006
m+a report vom 15. Juni 2006