Press Releases NürnbergMesse

June 2010

“Is 2010 Year 1 post crisis, or Year 3 of the crisis?” This question was one of the most hotly debated topics at the recent EMECA General Assembly in Basel. Due to the very different development experiences of the exhibition companies and exhibition centres, this question could not be conclusively answered. However, all members were agreed in their assessment that 2010 was going to be much better than 2009.Throughout the course of 2009, EMECA members recorded cycle- and economy-related declines in all relevant trade fair metrics. The number of events dropped by six percent against 2008 figures to 1,276. Of these, 86 percent took place in Europe, which meant that 14 percent – or one in seven events – were already being run by EMECA members outside Europe. Exhibitor numbers were down 7 percent to around 321,000, while the amount of occupied floor area dropped a disproportionate 11 percent to about 32.3 million square meters. Visitor numbers also fell by approximately 10 percent to 37.7 million. As a result, the combined turnover of all EMECA members fell 10 percent to 2.4 billion Euros. “Much of this decline can be attributed to a cycle-related weak year of events in 2009,” says Rene Kamm.In fact, the impact of the economic crisis within the exhibition industry has been very variable. In general, public exhibitions were less affected than trade fairs, especially those in “crisis sectors” like the automotive or construction industries. As a result of this, the exhibition companies who were most affected were those with a particularly strong trade show portfolio in these troubled sectors, and/or those located in regions where the impact of the recession was particularly strongly felt.

Cautious optimism – changed market conditions
“Although painful, the recession-related downturn in the trade show industry is manageable,” says Kamm. “Fortunately, the majority of trade fair companies will this year comfortably exceed the key figures of the previous years.” This shows that even – or especially – in difficult economic times, trade fairs are a very effective and efficient marketing tool that many companies simply cannot afford to do without.Accordingly, exhibition companies are generally looking to the future with confidence. “We must be aware, though, that market conditions have changed and will continue to change,” says Kamm. “We will become more active in streamlined markets, which will be a new challenge.”Within the context of these changed market conditions, clear strategic trends emerged from the members at the EMECA General Assembly. Among these were strengthening the market position of the leading trade shows; increased investment in markets and marketing and less in infrastructure; expansion of international activities, particularly in Asia and Latin America; expansion of service offerings and closer cooperation with host organisers. These key strategic directions clearly show that future collaborations, mergers and acquisitions will be a crucial factor for the exhibition industry.

EMECA says goodbye to Granier and von Zitzewitz
As part of the EMECA General Assembly in Basel, members said farewell to EMECA Vice-Presidents Michael von Zitzewitz (Frankfurt) and Marc Granier (Paris). “You have given outstanding service to the European exhibition industry. And what is especially important: working with you both has been extremely enjoyable,” said René Kamm on behalf of all EMECA members. The EMECA Board will continue to be led by President René Kamm (CEO of MCH Group, formerly Messe Schweiz AG). Bernd A. Diederichs (CEO NürnbergMesse) will act as Vice-President communications while Giovanni Mantovani (CEO Veronafiere) will be Vice-President engineering and studies. Enrique Calomarde (Secretary General Feria Valencia) is EMECA Treasurer and Jörn Kronenwert is EMECA Secretary General. The Vice-Presidents for strategy and for relations with the European Union will be newly appointed in the autumn.

Study on energy performance of major European exhibition centres
Following its “Ease of access, ease of success” study on accessibility and access facilities at the European exhibition centres, EMECA 2010 is now starting a new study on energy efficiency. The aim of the initiative is to measure the properties and energy consumption of representative fair and exhibition venues in Europe. The study focuses on the relationship between construction materials and facade techniques and the energy consumption for space heating and cooling. The exhibition centres selected for the study include the facilities completed only a few years ago in Milan (2005) and Stuttgart (2007) and the older exhibition centres in Madrid (1991) and Utrecht (1916). The background to the study is the complex building structure of the European exhibition centres, which according to an initial survey of the 18 EMECA members still offers great development potential in terms of energy savings. Possible solutions for all European exhibition centres are to be derived from the results of the study. The idea of the study was developed by the EMECA Technical Working Group set up under the direction of Veronafiere in 2009. The study will be conducted by the Polytechnic University of Milan.

EMECA backs Al-Invest support programme
Latin-America is becoming an increasingly interesting area for international business. At 3,534 billion US dollars in 2007, the region’s share of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) already stood at 6.5 percent. Reason enough for EMECA to extend its commitment to the implementation of the “America Latina” (Al-Invest) investment programme. Founded by the EU in 1995, this initiative makes it easier for Latin-American SMEs to participate in European trade fairs. Al-Invest is led by “Eurochambres”, the umbrella group for European chambers of commerce and industry. To date, more than 87,000 SMEs have taken part in the programme.Al-Invest is divided into four phases. The cornerstone of the current round is the promotion of trade relations through trade fair participation. Traditionally, Latin-America and the EU have enjoyed close trade relations; however, these have been almost exclusively built around a few very large companies. For financial and logistical reasons, SMEs can seldom afford to participate in trade fairs overseas. For this reason, the goal of the fourth phase of the programme, which runs from 2009 to 2012, is to organise some 30 pavilions for Latin American SMEs at selected European trade fairs. EMECA is responsible for implementing this project.Information on how to participate in Al-Invest and application forms can be found on the website of the European Commission: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/latin-america/regional-cooperation/al-invest/

About EMECA:
The 18 EMECA venues organize some 1,200 exhibitions a year with around 321,000 exhibitors and 37,7 million visitors on a gross rented display area of about 32 million square metres. According to their own estimates, the exhibiting companies generate a turnover of some 800 billion euros through exhibitions. A KMPG study shows that the economic effects initiated by exhibitions at the EMECA venues amount to some 16 billion euros and secure over 360,000 jobs in Europe.

The EMECA members:
Belgium:
Brussels Expo
Germany:
Deutsche Messe (Hanover), Messe Frankfurt, NürnbergMesse Landesmesse Stuttgart
France:
EUREXPO – Centre de Conventions e d’Expositions de Lyon,VIPARIS, Paris
Italy:
BolognaFiere, Fiera Milano, Rimini Fiera, VeronaFiere
The Netherlands:
Royal Dutch Jaarburs Utrecht
Portugal:
Feira Internacional de Lisboa
Switzerland:
MCH Group (Basel, Zurich), Geneva Palexpo
Spain:
Fira de Barcelona, IFEMA – Feria de Madrid, Feria Valencia

Press and media contact:
Peter Ottmann
Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse
EMECA Press Spokesman Messezentrum
90471 Nürnberg
Tel +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-83 15
Fax +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-86 40
pressesprecher@nuernbergmesse.de ()
www.emeca.eu