In December 2013 AUMA – the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry has submitted a projection for the development of international and national trade fairs in Germany. It is expected that the number of exhibitors at the 139 trade fairs will increase by almost 1% compared with the corresponding previous events (2012: +2.0%). Participation of foreign companies is growing at an above-average rate of +2%. Walter Mennekes, chairman of the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA), presented the data at the Association’s autumn press conference on 5 December 2013 in Cologne. The stand space of international and national trade fairs is expected to remain unchanged (2012: +4.1%). According to Mr. Mennekes it was clear that exhibitors were currently investing in the quality of their appearances at trade fairs and not in the size of participations. Visitor numbers were also expected to remain stable. The Chairman stated that general conditions for Germany’s trade fair industry were once again not ideal. Economic growth in Germany has again declined slightly, but in the meantime incoming orders in the industry have increased. Consumer demand was also relatively strong. The ongoing challenging economic situation in Southern Europe continued to affect the presence of these countries at German trade fairs, while on the other hand Germany was benefiting from comparatively strong growth in both East Asia and South America. AUMA expects trade fair figures to remain largely stable for 2014. A small increase is also possible depending on how the economy develops. “Trade fairs are the most important B2B marketing instrument and will continue to be so in years to come,” said Mennekes. Source: www.auma.de