Automechanika, this trade fair used to make the whole city hum. Although it is a pure trade fair, up to 5000 exhibitors from 181 nations and 140,000 visitors ensured plenty of activity in the city. Many benefited from it. The hotels were able to call up “fair prices”, the tables were well booked everywhere, from apple wine bars to star restaurants, caterers and many other service providers had full order books. If you look at the hotel portals now, you will find plenty of rooms for the next few days at prices around 70 euros, which otherwise hardly existed even in midsummer. No wonder, at the Automechanika and the Hypermotion mobility congress, which has been brought forward for the joint appearance in November, this time only around 400 exhibitors from 34 countries will be present.And only 200 of them actually have stands on the exhibition grounds, the rest of them show their products and services on the virtual platforms of the organizers.

Patricia Andreae

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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That is not what one had hoped for from the autumn fair in the city.

But still more than some had feared given rising incidences.

Thomas Feda from the municipal Tourismus + Congress GmbH sees slight increases in the demand for overnight stays.

Many hotels have not yet opened.

Some like the Intercontinental, for example, still used the time for renovations or remained closed for the time being because the operation was still not profitable.

"Very good signal for the Frankfurt trade fair location"

Nevertheless, people in the hospitality industry are happy about the first trade fair in a year and a half. "The fact that Automechanika is taking place in a small, hybrid setting is a very good signal for Frankfurt as a trade fair location," says Robert Mangold, head of the tiger and palm gastronomy and board member of the regional association of the industry association Dehoga. "A piece of normality is already returning to the cityscape and in the hotels." The management of the fair is sending a signal for the next few months and the year 2022, "in which we expect the return of many traditional fairs". Many hotels already have inquiries about this. That is why "all future corona regulations of the state of Hesse must be designed in such a way that the trade fair will start up again as the engine for our economic life," said Mangold.

He also speaks of trade fair managing director Detlef Braun, who is already registering high demand for the textile and consumer goods fairs in the first quarter of next year.

There are no firm bookings yet.

"The elephant Covid is still standing in the room," he summarizes what the problem is.

There must be real freedom to travel again without quarantine requirements so that international trade fair business can get going.

Until then, it would be good if anything could take place at all.

"Still a lot in the pipeline"

This also applies to the International Motor Show IAA in Munich, which has moved away from Frankfurt, on which the Frankfurt-based otherwise does not want to comment. However, he does not see competition for the new local concepts, in which the auto parts and accessories fair is linked to the Hypermotion mobility congress, even if Munich also focused on future mobility and exhibited e-bikes, for example.

With Automechanika, which is held in 14 countries, Comtrans and Busworld in Russia as well as trade fairs for mobility and logistics in Istanbul and Johannesburg, Frankfurt has built a global network with 20,000 exhibitors from 180 nations in the field. The bicycle fair from Friedrichshafen will come to Frankfurt next summer. And there is “still a lot in the pipeline” in this field, with which Frankfurt could position itself as a location for trade fairs for future-oriented mobility.

At the Automechanika and the Hypermotion today, Tuesday, key mobility issues will be discussed: “How can the CO2 targets be achieved?” Will be discussed by experts and politicians in the afternoon. Other forums are about what role the car will play in the future, what the modes of transport of the future will look like and how and where they will be produced. This is what a conference with Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) and representatives of the tube transport system Hyperloop will be about on Thursday. Elsewhere, it will be discussed which smart solutions are available for optimizing and securing transport and logistics chains. Trade visitors can test a number of innovations on a course on the exhibition grounds. Those who do not arrive can follow parts of the event on the trade fair's website.