New Paths in Asia: Tomorrow's Markets, Today's Ambition

Asia is the ultimate future market. The economic rise of countries like China and India, along with the dynamic developments in Southeast Asia, have brought the world to a turning point. According to figures from the International Monetary Fund, economic growth in Asia from 2024 to 2030 will beat the global average by ten percent points. While the global economy will grow by around 39 percent, Asia will see an increase of 49 percent. And where does this strength come from? Mainly from Asia itself, fueled by trade between Asian economies. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Asia has the second highest level of intra-regional trade after Europe: 58.5 percent of Asian trade takes place within the continent. And this trend is set to continue. Between 2023 and 2030, Asian imports are expected to increase by 27 percent, compared with 25 percent for the rest of the world. Exports are forecast to grow even more: 34 percent for Asia compared with 23 percent for the rest of the world. So it’s only logical that companies will continue to shift more and more of their activities to Asia.

This illustrates Asia's increasingly important role in global trade – and the international trade show industry is coming along for the ride. In order to be successful on the continent, both international and local companies need marketplaces in order to establish contacts, exchange ideas and form partnerships. That’s why the number and size of trade shows from Mumbai to Tokyo is constantly increasing. According to jwc, a management consultancy specializing in trade shows, 34 percent more exhibition space will be rented in Asia in 2030 than was in 2019. Growth of just 2 percent is expected for Europe over the same period. For us, this means that if we want to secure our leading global position – both for our company and for our home base in Düsseldorf – we have to show up big in Asia. And we started doing just that early on. In 1994, we founded our first Asian subsidiary, “Messe Düsseldorf Japan”, in Tokyo. Today, more than 50 of our trade shows – more than half – take place on the continent. Responding to the global shift towards Asia, we have further expanded our activities there and consolidated our now five regional subsidiaries in Singapore, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Tokyo and Shanghai under the “Messe Düsseldorf for Asia” (MDfA) umbrella, thus aligning our international focus even more systematically with the needs of the Asian markets.

We’re taking this step for several reasons: Established markets such as Germany and Europe can benefit from the rise of Asia. That’s why we as a trade show company are proactively creating marketplaces in the region to open up access to these markets for international companies. At the same time, we aim to create growth platforms for Asian companies. Strong flagship events in Asia help us to attract even more Asian companies and visitors to our leading global trade shows in Düsseldorf, which in turn ensures that our events will continue to reflect Asia's increasingly important role in global markets and remain relevant as global hubs for their respective industries.

Technological progress in Asia, in particular, is helping to diversify the range of products displayed at our leading global trade shows in Düsseldorf. More and more Asian countries are becoming leaders in areas such as artificial intelligence, automation and sustainable technologies. These fields are crucial for overcoming global challenges such as urbanization, population growth and the climate crisis. We will continue to use our platforms to make these technologies accessible to an international audience and to promote the dialogue between business, science and politics.

"Asian Healthcare Market with Enormous Potential"
Initially, our new Asia strategy has been focused on the medical technology and rehabilitation market: not only do we organize the leading global trade shows in these fields in Düsseldorf with MEDICA, COMPAMED and REHACARE, we’re also very well positioned in Asia with seven trade shows. With MEDICARE ASIA, we’re now combining these under one umbrella, creating a comprehensive platform to serve the growing demand for medical technology and rehabilitation solutions in Asia. Nearly half of the world's population lives on the continent. Combined with technological advancements, economic growth, and increasing purchasing power in Asia, the demand for modern healthcare services and innovative medical technology is rising. Our Asian healthcare shows provide optimal access to these markets, which we’ll further increase with MEDICARE ASIA. Going forward, we’ll be coordinating all key activities – from exhibitor acquisition to marketing to program design – from our location in Singapore, all precisely aligned with regional requirements. With that, we’re on track to strengthen our market leadership in Asia while simultaneously boosting MEDICA, COMPAMED and REHACARE in Düsseldorf.

In addition, we continuously seek to broaden our trade show portfolio in Asia beyond the healthcare sector. Examples of the successful development of new markets can be found in the expansion of CIOSH, the leading Chinese trade show for occupational safety and health, to Southeast Asia with the new CIOSH Thailand, and the growing ProWein portfolio in Asia, which recently added ProWine Tokyo. All told, Messe Düsseldorf isn’t just adapting to new global realities, we’re actively leveraging them in order to grow and continue to offer our national and international partners a guiding hand as they enter new markets.

Forging new paths in Asia isn’t just a plea, it’s also an invitation to join forces in driving the expansion into Asian markets.