Around 85,000 visitors from the People’s Republic of China visited international trade fairs in Germany in 2017 to acquire information and pave the way for business relations. That figure is twice as high as ten years ago. The number of visitors from all countries outside Europe rose by 30% in the same period of time. These figures are from the now completed analyses by AUMA – the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry.
Chinese interest in German trade fairs has increased considerably more on the purchasing side than on the exhibiting side, with the latter showing a rise of “only” around 50%. According to AUMA CEO Dr Peter Neven, “German trade fairs and their offers from all over the world are clearly a very good match for buyers of investment and consumer goods for the Chinese market.”
In addition to guests from China, Germany’s international trade fairs and numerous associated sector-specific conferences attract many visitors from other countries on different continents. Around 650,000 people from countries outside Europe attended trade fairs in Germany in 2017, more than ever before in an uneven year in which fewer major investment goods fairs are held for scheduling reasons.
Of the total of 9.7 million visitors in 2017, 2.9 million came from abroad, including approximately 1.8 million from the EU and a good 460,000 from other countries in Europe. Of the visitors from outside Europe, nearly half or around 300,000 came from South, East and Central Asia. Around 95,000 came from the Middle East, followed by about 90,000 from North America. Latin America followed with 75,000 and Africa with around 65,000 visitors. Australia and Oceania managed to send nearly 25,000 visitors.
The largest countries of origin for visitors from the respective regions were China (85,000) from East Asia, Israel (32,000) from the Middle East, the USA (70,000) from North America, Brazil (23,000) from Latin America, and Egypt and South Africa (both around 12,000) from Africa.
