AUMA Forecasts Exhibitor and Space Declines for the First Quarter of 2026 as Visitor Numbers Keep Growing

AUMA has published a forecast for the trade fair intensive first quarter of 2026: measured against the respective previous editions, exhibitor numbers fall 2.3% and rented stand space 4.6%, while visitor numbers still grow 0.9%. The association frames this as the point at which Germany's economic slowdown starts to feed through to the trade fair industry, with individual 2026 indicators turning negative. For the year as a whole, AUMA's annual publication lists around 320 trade fairs in Germany in 2026, including numerous leading fairs and major anniversaries of established events; the association's statement on the 2025 annual figures instead gives 319, noting that just over 200 had taken place by the end of the month in which it was issued and that 120 remain in the second half of the year. A further eleven events are scheduled to be held for the first time in 2026. Organiser confidence remains on the positive side: close to two thirds of the organisers surveyed rate their business situation as stable or better than a year earlier and more than 60% expect a better result in 2026, though the association points out that cyclical scheduling effects play the decisive role here.