Italians still dominating in Germany

Germany - Italy remains the largest exhibitor at German trade fairs, according to an AUMA report out this week.

Around 93,000 exhibitors from abroad took part in international trade fairs in Germany last year, according to AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, with EU countries continuing to contribute the majority of exhibitors at 48,000, more than 51 per cent.

Italy remained the country with the largest number of participators at German trade fairs, fielding more than 11,000 companies, followed by the People's Republic of China with 10,000 and the UK with almost 5,400 – an individual increase of 10 per cent.

Strong showings were also made by the Netherlands and France, with around 5,200 each, while the US, with 5,000, dropped down two places due to increased European presence, despite increased US exhibitor attendance.

Growth in attendance by Eastern Asian countries slowed considerably, following the downturn in the 2007 trade fair schedule.