Special thanks

Just in time for the summer break, the fifth edition of AUMA Trends is now ready. Titled “The German Trade Fair Industry: Resilient in Turbulent Times”, this annual publication takes a look at Germany’s vibrant trade fair scene, highlights new opportunities and describes how the industry is navigating its way through ongoing crises.

Since spring, I have been working on this issue as project manager and editor-in-chief, collecting content and editing key figures, analyses and texts from the AUMA team. Many key players in the trade fair industry were involved in this project. When interviewed they offer us insights into successful projects and courageous pilot projects and describe how resilience is put into practice within their organisations.

Everyone’s efforts have paid off: the result is a digital publication that is fresh, modern and vibrant – and thus reflects what makes trade fairs so special.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue: to all AUMA staff and the management team for their trust, their ideas and their contacts. To the communications team led by Steffen Schulze for their excellent collaboration, proofreading and editing. And – last but not least – to the agency tabmag for their graphic design ideas and professional execution, as well as to the web agency The Brettinghams for the web services relating to the interactive ‘Messen in Deutschland’ map.

I am particularly delighted to have had the opportunity to work with the many individuals who have enriched our publication with their experiences and insights: Dr Jan Trenczek from Prognos AG, Patrick Wölke and the Koelnmesse team, Andreas Steinsdörfer from SEW Eurodrive, Michel Ghattas-Kämpfner and the KRIDEM team, Christian Ulrich from the Spielwarenmesse, and Roland Haag from the new AUMA member, the Federal Association of the German Security and Defence Industry (BDSV). Our thanks also go to the two members of the MAK Executive Board, Viktoria Fitterer and Dr Thorsten Knoll, and to the DLG team led by Tobias Eichberg and Christopher Armstrong.

The texts in this publication are primarily created by people for people. They are based, amongst other things, on the “AUMA Exhibitor Outlook 2026/2027” as well as the Prognos-AUMA studies ‘Trade Fairs in the Age of AI: On the Threshold between Experiment and Integration’ and ‘The Trade Fair Effect: Value Creation, Growth, Competitiveness’. All AUMA publications can be found here.

The two previous issues of AUMA Trends are also available in the archive at trends.auma.de.

If you wish to keep up to date with the trade fair industry, it is well worth subscribing to our newsletter, AUMA Compact. Every three weeks, it features news, dates and analysis from the sector.

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Anne-Cathrin Böhl

Berlin, July 2026