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So now Italy too. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio reported to the Twitter news service that trade fairs will be taking place there again from mid-June. “International trade fairs are a strategic sector for the country that should be supported,” writes the politician and, with an exclamation mark, sends the message “Avanti” afterwards, meaning “forward”. Italy is thus embarking on a path that several other countries in Europe have recently taken: Spain, for example, Great Britain, Austria and Switzerland or Belgium and the Netherlands. In Germany, on the other hand, which is internationally regarded as the number one trade fair country, there is still no prospect of any kind. “In Asia, trade fairs have been taking place again for a long time. Now the competition is also moving to our national borders.Nevertheless, there are no signs of opening up ”, criticizes Henning Könicke, chairman of the trade association for trade fairs and exhibitions (FAMA).
The course must now be set
There are not even talks, Könicke complains to WELT. Instead, there is a complete political standstill. “We understand that as few people as possible should meet at the moment and that the exact opposite happens at trade fairs. But for us it is not about an immediate opening, but about a date for summer or autumn at the latest, on which we can orientate ourselves and do business, ”says the entrepreneur, who is the main job of managing director of the private trade fair organizer AFAG from Nuremberg. Corresponding safety and hygiene concepts have existed for a long time. And the vaccination campaign is then likely to have progressed well. Politicians must finally recognize this and implement it in scenarios. "If something doesn't happen soon, the whole year is lost," warns Könicke.Because every trade fair needs a few months in advance. "If it is only said in August that we can start again, nothing more will happen before 2022."
The elimination of trade fairs is expensive for the German economy.
The Munich Ifo Institute estimates the economic effects of the industry shows in Germany to be around 28 billion euros.
The organizers are not the only ones profiting from the trade fair business: Hotels and restaurants, airlines and taxis, retailers and cultural institutions also earn money with exhibitors and visitors to trade fairs, as well as craftsmen and freight forwarders, as well as security services and catering companies.
"If the development continues even remotely in 2021, more than 100,000 jobs in the affected industries are likely to be at risk," says Jörn Holtmeier, Managing Director of the Association of the Exhibition Industry (AUMA).
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And the business deals of the exhibiting industry through newly acquired customers and orders at trade fairs are not even taken into account in this calculation.
According to expert estimates, that is a multiple of that.
The main victims are small and medium-sized companies for whom trade fairs are export promotion instruments.
"The lack of presentation and sales platforms prevents large-scale business opportunities, especially for medium-sized and small businesses," warns Holtmeier.
In addition, trade fairs also have functions that outsiders often hardly notice, such as recruiting new employees or simply exchanging ideas with partners and the media.
Third parties benefit from German inertia
And the damage to everyone involved could be permanent. "The reputation of the industry is suffering from the current standstill," says Holtmeier. He even sees the market leader status of the German trade fair industry threatened in international competition: “Our global market position is at risk.” Björn Kempe believes that too. “The music will be playing in Asia in the future,” says the consultant and managing director of Expos Asia who specializes in trade fairs. "Locations such as China, Dubai or Singapore have upgraded significantly in recent years and are now benefiting from our inertia." For several months now, trade fairs have been taking place in these countries again as if nothing had happened. For example, 1,000 exhibitors and hundreds of thousands of visitors recently took part in “Auto China” in Shanghai.But even last year, for example, there was the furniture supplier fair Interzum in Guangzhou with 800 exhibitors and over 100,000 visitors. And that's actually just an offshoot. The original takes place in Cologne and boasts of representing the entire industry. But this time nobody is allowed to arrive. Instead, Interzum is currently taking place digitally in the first week of May.
Other European locations in demand
But now the German trade fair organizers don't just have to look enviously at Asia. In Europe, too, life is returning to the halls. "We are being overtaken from all sides," says AUMA boss Holtmeier, noticeably dissatisfied. Spain started with the “Hospitality Innovation Planet” trade fair in Madrid at the end of March. The Mobile World Congress will also take place in Barcelona at the end of June. The dimension will not be by far as it was in pre-Corona times. At least there is a perspective and, above all, planning security for the exhibiting industry, according to the industry. No company will invest money in a trade fair presence if it is uncertain whether the event can take place at all. Especially since the costs can run into the millions depending on the trade fair and stand size.“So we switch to other locations,” believes industry expert Kempe. "There is almost every trade fair topic in London, Paris and Milan."
Budget cuts and churn
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Kempe now believes that new focal points can emerge that will turn customers away from the world's leading trade fairs.
“This is the second time that trade fairs have been canceled at many locations in Germany.
This can induce exhibitors to switch to other events or even to forego trade fairs permanently if business has continued to go well Want to reduce the number of their trade fair appearances in 2022 and 2023, almost 37 percent are also planning with significantly lower budgets.
For the local trade fair organizers, some of whom have had to live with closed halls for 15 months, this is a horror idea. Companies are already groaning under the consequences of the corona crisis. Several locations are reporting losses of more than 100 million euros for 2020, including Deutsche Messe AG from Hanover, the Kölnmesse and Messe Berlin. And this year, the predominantly public companies are threatened with a similar scenario. "From September onwards, some of their shareholders will again be asking for 100 to 150 million euros," forecasts consultant Kempe. Massive savings have long been made: For example, there are job cuts at a number of companies, including at management level. Messe München, for example, has three out of six managing directors at the door on July 1st.Elsewhere, the first events are being deleted from the portfolio, in Berlin for example the Bautec and the Stage Set Scenery or the Photokina in Cologne. And more are likely to follow, as Kempe fears.
Fear of further cancellations
Consulting companies have long been scouring the balance sheets and structures of the trade fair organizers and are looking for further savings potential. Because of the 380 planned trade fairs in 2021, according to AUMA, more than half have already been canceled or postponed. And there are likely to be a number of other cancellations, predicts association manager Holtmeier. Other countries have long since shown that it is possible. "You can definitely expect German politicians to work with premises and develop scenarios." Because trust must be restored in Germany as a trade fair location as quickly as possible. For this purpose, Holtmeier suggests regional and national model projects. Experience could thus be gained and a signal for the second half of the year could be sent. "Anyone who opens DIY megastores with garden centersshould also allow regional craft fairs. "