Exhibition center on the up again – salzburg.ORF.at
Business
Hardly any other industry has been hit as hard by the CoV lockdowns as the trade fair industry. Months of downtime, visitor restrictions and much more – the Salzburg exhibition center has had a tough few years. However, the first six months of this year have seen better times again. But there is no winning.
In terms of area, the Salzburg Exhibition Center is huge. The area covers around 100,000 square meters, 60 percent open space, 40 percent indoors. Preparations are currently underway for Creativ – Austria’s only trade fair for gift ideas, home accessories and lifestyle products. It opens on Friday.
Positive expectations for autumn
Alexander Kribus, Managing Director of the Salzburg Exhibition Center, says he is confident about this year: “Things are looking very positive after January and February. We still affected restrictions in the first quarter. In the second quarter, thank God, there was the Dult with 200,000 visitors. We are also very optimistic for the autumn.”
The exhibition center has turned over almost twelve million euros in the record year 2019 so far, according to Kribus: “We are aiming for a positive operating result again next year. The future WILL show whether we will reach the ten million euro mark. That is the point where we operate positively.”
Continued trust in Partner Reed
Almost 40 percent each of the Salzburg Exhibition Center is owned by the State and City of Salzburg, with the remainder being owned by the Salzburg Chamber of Commerce. Politically, the company is out of the question, says Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board Florian Kreibich: “I’m very confident. The fair is very important for the people of Salzburg.”
The largest partner in the past was trade fair organizer Reed. He also delivered some cash cows. It should stay that way, says Managing Director Kribus from the exhibition center: “We assume that Reed will revive the Hohe Jagd as well as building and living. And that the events are returning to their old strength.”
Better informed visitors because of internet
The economic goal is more in-house events and thus more independence in the future. Because the trade fair industry is changing. Digitization has changed customer behavior: “We notice that the prior knowledge of the visitors is different. People use the internet to find out more. However, the internet cannot replace personal contact.”
No more own hotel planned
Recently there were considerations to build a hotel on the site. A year before the 50th birthday of the Salzburg Exhibition Center, these were discarded again.