Coronavirus and Storm Ciara impacted visitor attendance at Ambiente, the world’s largest consumer goods trade fair, which took place in Frankfurt from 7-11th February
Around 108,000 buyers visited, from nearly 160 countries – significantly down from the 136,081 recorded last year.
The show boasted 4635 exhibitors from 93 countries, but while large numbers of orders were placed, some exhibitors were disappointed with the visitor uncertainty and absences.
Around two thirds (62%) of the visitors attended from outside Germany, yet many retailers had banned workforces from travelling due to the coronavirus – while from Sunday onwards, air and rail traffic was completely paralysed at times, states organiser Messe Frankfurt.
“If a trade fair is impacted by two such events, it really does face enormous challenges,” says Detlef Braun, member of Messe Frankfurt's executive board. “But our exhibitors assessed the situation correctly. And the trade visitors came to Frankfurt with a positive mindset and keen to place orders.”
After Germany, the top five visitng nations were Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK. Visitor growth came from Estonia, Japan, Jordan, Colombia, Romania and Turkey.
