Going to one trade fair replaces five separate business trips – here’s the evidence

The sustainability case for attending industry events in person is stronger than most people realise. New research from Germany’s leading trade fair body makes the numbers hard to ignore.

A guest contribution · Based on AUMA, Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, November 2024

When sustainability teams scrutinise travel budgets, trade fairs are often an easy target. A flight to Hamburg, several days away from the office, hotel costs… On the surface, attending an industry event looks like a significant carbon and financial commitment.

But research published in November 2024 by AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, suggests the calculation looks very different when you consider what a trade fair visit actually replaces.

What the research found

This first and most comprehensive study of its kind surveyed almost 3,000 trade fair participants across Germany in the first half of 2024. Conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Tourism at Harz University of Applied Sciences on behalf of AUMA, it set out to measure how efficiently trade fair visits consolidate business activity.

The findings are striking. On average, each visitor avoided more than five separate business trips per trade fair day. Depending on the event, the average ranged from from a minimum of three to almost 14 avoided trips. For international visitors travelling from South and Central America or the Middle East, the average saving rose to 12 trips.

In other words, the more geographically dispersed your network, the greater the benefit of bringing those connections together in one place.

“Trade fairs contribute to climate protection and sustainability by efficiently bundling personal contacts and thus avoiding further travel.”

The digital question

The study also explored whether virtual alternatives could achieve the same result. More than 60% of respondents said their trade fair contacts could not have been replicated in the same depth or quality digitally, particularly when it came to networking, initiating new business relationships, and direct information exchange.

The average visitor recorded more than 13 business contacts per day, with over a third of those contacts likely to have required additional individual trips had the trade fair not taken place.

This reinforces a point many businesses already recognise: digital tools support relationships, but they rarely replace the value of meeting in person.

AUMA Managing Director Jörn Holtmeier summarised the findings: trade fairs are not just meeting places and showcases for innovation, but measurable contributors to more efficient and lower-emission business travel.

The study also found that 56% of visitors personally factor in ecological considerations when planning their trade fair trip, rising to 60% at company level – suggesting that sustainability awareness is already well embedded.

Why this matters for Hamburg’s trade fairs

These findings apply across major international events hosted at Hamburg Messe und Congress.

For sectors such as maritime and wind energy, events like SMM Hamburg and WindEnergy Hamburg bring together global supply chains, decision-makers and technical specialists in one place.

An event like WindEnergy Hamburg alone brings together more than 1,600 exhibitors from over 40 countries – including manufacturers, developers, grid operators, investors and policymakers – consolidating an enormous volume of relationship-building, business development and market intelligence into just four days.

Measured against the alternative of multiple individual trips across Europe and beyond, the sustainability case for attending becomes significantly stronger than a simple view of travel emissions suggests.

Conclusion

Trade fairs are often viewed as a cost. In reality, they function as a highly efficient substitute for multiple separate journeys.

For internationally active businesses, attending one well-targeted event can reduce overall travel not increase it.

References:
AUMA, Association of the German Trade Fair Industry. Added value of trade fair visits: How individual journeys are avoided. Berlin, November 2024.
Institute for Sustainable Tourism, Harz University of Applied Sciences. Study commissioned by AUMA, conducted in the first half of 2024.
AUMA sustainability position.