IFMA Reports -7% Trade Visitors

COLOGNE, Germany - 20,000 trade visitors made their way to the IFMA last Thursday and Friday, according to KoelnMesse estimates. That is 7% down compared with last year. Despite all the efforts of the IFMA project team to present an attractive bike fair, the number of visitors is clearly declining.

On the two public days the drop in the number of visitors was even bigger, 15% or 28,000 people (33,000 in 2006). Despite the presence of renowned brands like Giant and Scott and despite the organization of attractive events like the Cruiser ride and the Bulls spine jam, it is apparently not enough any longer to get bike dealers and bike enthusiasts to the Cologne Show.

Maybe the IFMA has to make a choice between a trade and consumer fair. Not just the figures speak for themselves. Quite halls and corridors on the show days were already enough to draw the conclusion that the new Nord halls have not given IFMA the boost it needed.

Regional show

Last year the opening of the new fair ground gave the IFMA new élan just as it had done with the Eurobike a few years earlier. Unfortunately the IFMA 2007 could not meet its expectations. Perhaps the conclusion must be that the IFMA Show has evolved into a regional Show for Northern Europe with a focus on trade visitors from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, the North-East of France and Denmark.

However, it is clear that the IFMA organisers hold bigger ambitions and want trade visitors from other countries as well. And that the KoelnMesse, contrary to Eurobike, can cater for lots and lots of more visitors is also clear. The KoelnMesse people emphasize the fact that they can provide the space for exhibitors, the infrastructure and the hotels.