Markets
Trade Fair Market Poland
The Polish exhibition market remains in an overall healthy condition despite global financial crisis.
Poland’s entire economy, and in its wake the Polish exhibition industry, is actually less impressed in the face of the global financial crisis than other Eastern European nations. Experiences made during the economic transformation from socialism to the market economy accounted for sharp credit worthiness verification systems. The result is that the percentage share of bad loans today is only marginal, thereby stabilizing the Polish economy.
This firm uphold of economic activity is also due to massive spending from government and the private sector related to the 2012 UEFA Euro Soccer Championship. Railway lines and stadiums are being modernized, hotels built and an extra 1,145 km of highway are planned to be finished in 2015.
It is not much of a surprise, then, that the international road construction fair Kielce in 2007 actually had to fend off interested exhibitors, despite having enlarged the available fair grounds.
The macroeconomic situation of Poland is positively stable with emerging growth industries in the sectors energy, renewable energies, traffic routes construction, environmental projects, engineering, machine building and most recently business process outsourcing such as back office processes and call center services. The German Office for foreign Trade (bfai) estimates that in 2010 Poland will be the site of the production of around 40 million LCD-TV sets by foreign companies, representing a share of over 70 % of European total demand.
Schengen Treaty facilitates trade
Without much attention paid by international media, Poland has joined the Schengen Treaty in 2007, thereby facilitating a rise in the number of international exhibitors on Polish fairs. The new legal environment brought ease in communication and transportation of people and goods, which speeds up business processes considerably.
The national vice market leader Targi Kielce alone has recently posted a 20 % increase in international exhibitors. And although Germany remains the most important trading partner by far, accounting for a total trade volume of 54,5 billion Euro in 2007, Asian countries are increasingly interested in doing business on Polish trade fairs. China leading the charge is eagerly welcomed by Poland’s exhibition companies. Both aforementioned TargiKielce and Warsaw’s Expo XXI exposition centre operated by London based Expomedia Group are now offering their internet presence not only in English, but Chinese, too.
EXPO XXI Warsaw International ExpocentreTraditional structures still relevant
Stemming from historical developments, the predominant business model in the Polish exhibition market is that of a company operating its own venue.
Accordingly, the major exhibition cities in Poland usually are dominated by one market leader and its respective venue. Such is the case in Poznan in the mid-west (distinct market leader Miedzynarodowe Targi Poznaskie), in Kraków in the south (Targi w Krakowie), in Gdansk in the north (MTG), and Kielce in the mid-east (Targi Kielce). Together with Miedzynarodowe Targi Polska (MT Polska) in the capital Warszawa, these companies accounted for 79 % of rented space, 72 % of exhibitors and 86 % of international exhibitors in 2007. Compared to the previous year the space rented increased by 21 % and exhibitor numbers went up by 14 %.
Above figures refer to the standing of market players in the Polish market. There are, however, many construction and renovation projects. These will definitely have an effect on the above numbers in the upcoming years, given that the proportions of available exhibition space are about to change. The current market leader MT Poznan will still own the largest exhibition area with 113,000 sqm of hall space and 32,000 sqm outside area.
Venues in Poland
Source: KME / m+a / AUMAStatus: 12/2008
