Koelnmesse plans international growth: sales jump to €450 million!

Koelnmesse plans international growth: sales jump to €450 million!

Cologne has repositioned itself as an exhibition location in the trade fair world. 【gameswirtschaft.de】 reports that Koelnmesse is starting 2024 with a fresh strategy. A central point here is the new venue “Confex”, which will be available for numerous events from 2024. With this innovation, Koelnmesse would like to stimulate international competition and secure profitable growth. Managing director Oliver Frese is committed to the goal of making Koelnmesse one of the top 5 trade fair venues in the world and emphasizes that increasing utilization of the site and digitizing the offerings are essential.

In 2024, Koelnmesse will draw a consistently positive conclusion. Sales increased to an impressive 365.8 million euros, with a profit of 21.3 million euros, underlining the need for growth. With a total of 76 events held, the people of Cologne were pleased to welcome more than 2.1 million visitors from 197 countries. This is a strong sign that the trade fair industry in Germany is slowly but surely growing out of the shadows of the Corona years. 【promedianews.de】 shows that demand for trade fairs in Germany remains high, which is not a given in the current economic situation.

Sustainable future and expansion

A further step into the future is the ambitious corporate strategy “Level 35”, which aims to significantly influence the global trade fair landscape by 2035. By then, they not only want to pay off the debts from the pandemic era, but also invest over 1 billion euros in the Cologne location. This also includes extensive sustainability measures, for example with a photovoltaic module area of ​​20,000 square meters on the new Confex roof.

Koelnmesse also remains extremely active abroad: a total of 21 new foreign trade fairs have been established since 2023, with a further nine planned for 2025. The international premiere and contract extensions, including with the powerful Gamescom, which expects more than 335,000 visitors in 2024, show the strength of the location and the ongoing popularity of the events. According to forecasts, sales will exceed 450 million euros in 2025, which would be a new record.

Challenges in view

But not everything is going smoothly. Koelnmesse boss Gerald Böse warns of risks in the economic environment that particularly affect medium-sized businesses. The pressure from rising costs and bureaucratization is noticeable, not least from ongoing inflation. Despite these challenges, over 40 percent of companies show that they want to maintain their investments in trade fairs, which offers hope for the industry.

The trade fair company is aware of the extensive economic landscape in which it operates. Many trade fairs were canceled between 2020 and 2022, and the lost tax revenue amounts to around 9.7 billion euros. Therefore, every effort to continue to make the location attractive and expand international offerings is worthwhile. In addition, thanks to its excellent transport connections and proximity to the city center, the exhibition center is an additional incentive for potential exhibitors and guests.

It remains exciting to see how Koelnmesse will develop in the coming years. One thing is certain: the trade fairs in Cologne are very popular and make a decisive contribution to the economic revival of the region.