Today, on 7 June, the international exhibition sector celebrates the Global Exhibitions Day for the second time now with a view to drawing more attention to the exhibition business around the globe as it makes a crucial contribution to strengthening international trade and the growth of economies.
The action day is initiated by the Global Association of the Trade Fair Industry UFI, headquartered in Paris. “At Messe Düsseldorf we are proud of belonging to this top-selling sector so important for international economic relations,” says Werner M. Dornscheidt, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, and goes on to say: “Messe Düsseldorf ranks 5th in the global sales standing of trade fair companies. In Europe with our balance sheet results we are the most profitable trade fair company with its own exhibition centre financing all its investment with its own resources.” UFI estimates global turnover of the exhibition business to total EUR 49 billion annually. Every year to the tune of 680,000 full-time equivalents organise 31,000 exhibitions throughout the world, where 4.4 million exhibiting companies present their products and innovations to approximately 260 million visitors.
“The exhibition business has developed into a global-player industry. It substantially contributes to building global networks, plays a crucial role in the development of economic regions and opens up new markets for export and trade especially for medium-sized business,” explains Dornscheidt and adds: “This applies especially to such events as our No. 1 trade fairs here in Düsseldorf that boast a high percentage of both international exhibitors and visitors. In the machinery, plants and equipment fields of expertise some 72% of exhibitors and trade visitors travelling here in 2016 came from abroad. However, global spin-offs also serve to carry well-established exhibition themes over to growth markets and open up excellent international business opportunities for enterprises.” Add to this the fact that trade fairs, even in the age of digitalisation, are of growing importance as locations of real encounters between stakeholders of an industry. This is over and above providing second-to-none opportunities for staging brands, making face-to-face contacts with customers, addressing the trade audience worldwide and for direct benchmarking with competitors. “Despite all the digital possibilities: the most intensive exchange of ideas, opinions and information is on a people-to-people basis,” adds Dornscheidt.
