AUMA Projects 141 International Fairs in Germany in 2007
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 2/5/2007
AUMA — the Assn. of the German Trade Fair Industry, projects German exhibition organizers will stage 141 international fairs in 2007. In 2006, there were 161 international trade fairs in the country, according to Anne-Cathrin Boehl of AUMA's public relations and market transparency division. However, despite the decrease in number of shows, other indices are expected to be up.
AUMA predicts that about 160,000 exhibitors will participate in these events, a 2-percent increase over the respective 2006 shows. Exhibit space at these exhibitions should increase an average of 1 percent, for a total of 6.5 million square meters (70 million square feet).
According to AUMA estimates, German national trade fair attendance will probably be around 10.2 million, a 1-percent increase over 2006. This will be the first time since 2001 that the number of visitors will surpass the 10-million mark.
In 2006, according to preliminary results, the number of exhibitors increased by about 1.5 percent, exhibit space grew by almost 1 percent and attendance by 2.5 percent over 2005.
Harald Kotter, director of AUMA's public relations and market transparency division, said he expects to see the biggest increases this year in fairs for the logistics and environmental segments.
AUMA noted that strong German economic growth will support a generally positive trend for trade fairs. The association expects to see a significant increase in exports and imports, and despite growing worldwide competition, German trade fairs will maintain their position as leading international platforms for trade.
