German exhibition grounds: slight increase in capacity

auma-trade-fairs-germany-capacities-2024

At German exhibition centres of national or international significance, 2.86 million square metres of surface area are currently available. Compared to the previous year this represents a slight increase of almost 60,000 square metres (+ 2.1 percent). This is the finding of a survey conducted by the German Trade Fair Industry Association, AUMA, at the beginning of 2024. The survey polled 25 exhibition centres in Germany that had hosted at least one trade fair classified by AUMA as national or international fair.

The increase can be attributed to the opening of the newly constructed Hall 5 at Messe Frankfurt. In addition, the Estrel Congress Center ECC in Berlin, which hosts two international trade fairs, joined the list. Trade fair and exhibition centres of regional significance also provide a gross surface area of around 380,000 square metres, meaning that more than 3.2 million square metres of trade fair grounds are currently available for the staging of trade fairs in Germany. This year major extensions to exhibition grounds are not intended.

In 2023, more than 160 million euros were invested in the infrastructure and modernisation of trade fair premises. This sum supported the renovation and expansion of halls, the upgrading of IT- and technical equipment, and efforts to promote sustainability through the installation of photovoltaic systems and LED lighting, for example.

According to information provided by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, UFI, there are 1,425 exhibition centres with a total of 42.1 million square metres of surface area worldwide. The largest share of this can be found in Europe with 15.7 million square metres (37.2 percent), with Germany alone accounting for one fifth of the European total. A further 36.6 percent of the total exhibition space is found in the Asia-Pacific region, with just under 18 percent in North America, 4.4 percent in Latin and South America, and 3.9 percent in the Near East and Africa.