There is a high level of interest in EXPO REAL, which will be held in Munich from October 4 to 6, 2022. Exhibitors from all over Europe want to leverage the platform to propel their business success. Three questions to Stefan Rummel, part of Messe München’s dual leadership team, on the development of EXPO REAL:
Mr. Rummel, while the dual leadership of Messe München is new, you have been deeply involved in EXPO REAL as Managing Director for a long time. What is your assessment of the current development of this trade fair?
Although the application phase is not over yet, we are seeing a significant increase in participation compared to last year—both on an international level and from all sectors of the industry. So, we will open seven halls again instead of the five we had last time. The strong response proves how valuable EXPO REAL is for the real estate industry to keep on track for business success amid the many challenges it faces. The show will once again feature traditional joint pavilions, for example from the Netherlands, Austria and France. The U.S. will also be represented and, for the first time, the Madrid region.
In terms of content, can you already share some highlights of the show?
One of the major challenges in Germany is to create sufficient affordable living space. We are therefore delighted that Federal Minister of Building Klara Geywitz will take part in a discussion on this topic at the EXPO REAL FORUM. And there will be a booth of the Ukraine; the background to this is the twinning of Munich and Kiev. The country’s reconstruction will also be given a stage in the conference program. The Grand Plaza will again be a central point of contact for the retail industry and its partners. And the Tech Alley, with its start-ups and now independent grown-ups, will bring digital innovations to the industry.
And what lasting changes will we see at EXPO REAL?
Even in turbulent times, EXPO REAL has shown that it is the key platform for the industry. We also recognize that the hybrid format has been valuable under the circumstances. However, people want the direct exchange more than ever, especially when it comes to complex products and business relationships. When we talk about the trade fair’s digitalization in the future it will be primarily about optimizing our core business, namely the analog trade fair experience, by offering digital services. This will be a key task in the years ahead. And so will be the sustainable trade fair organization: we already have a very „green” infrastructure, but we want to do much better, including increasing the recycling of waste at all Messe München events. For this EXPO REAL, for the first time, participants can also minimize their carbon footprint with a GoGreen ticket.
In addition, we will continue last year’s generous hall layout with the many networking areas as the participants were very positive about this experience and we want to keep that space available for networking in the future.
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