Textile Printing

FESPA Digital 2014 attracts most internationally diverse audience to date

Monday 09. June 2014 - Peripatetic movement, global FESPA portfolio and association support, refresh international mix

Exhibitors at the recently held FESPA Digital 2014 (Munich, Germany, 20-23 May 2014), met the most internationally diverse audience of any FESPA Digital show to date, with visitors streaming to Munich from 121 countries.
The largest visitor delegations, as anticipated, came from Germany, Italy, Austria, UK and Spain. Confirming the event’s growing global appeal, 70% of visitors came from outside the host nation, with record attendance from many countries.
Spanish attendance was more than four times that of FESPA Digital in Hamburg 2011, demonstrating the long-term impact of FESPA Digital’s presence in Barcelona in 2012 in engaging with the Iberian print community.
Proximity to Italy quadrupled the Italian visitor audience compared with Hamburg. As expected, Munich was also an attractive destination for visitors from many central European countries, with significant numbers of printers and sign makers travelling from Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Croatia.
FESPA’s direct presence in Turkey since the launch of FESPA Eurasia in 2013 also impacted on visitors from the country, with a 67% rise compared with FESPA Digital 2011. Likewise, FESPA’s brand presence in China since 2013 stimulated increased interest from Chinese printers, with over 100 printers making the trip to Munich, double the number for Hamburg. Attendance from the USA also doubled since 2011.
FESPA CEO Neil Felton offers his explanation of this growth: “Our strategy of taking FESPA events to different host cities around Europe is winning FESPA ‘fans’ in new territories, who remain engaged with FESPA and travel to subsequent shows outside their home country. Similarly, where FESPA has staged events in emerging markets, visitors to those shows experience the opportunities FESPA opens for them, and are inspired to come to our global events, in addition to those in their own regions. Overall, FESPA Digital attracted visitors from 121 countries worldwide, confirming FESPA’s global reputation for world-class exhibitions. We’re confident that our move to Cologne for the flagship FESPA 2015 will yet again refresh our European audience, while our move into Africa this summer will begin to build a FESPA community on that continent too.”
He continues, “With the continued support of our 37 national associations, FESPA is fast becoming the favourite international exhibition for a growing global community of specialist printers. It’s satisfying that, as we continue to grow, more and more of these printers will reap the rewards of their commitment through grass roots educational and knowledge-sharing initiatives delivered through our Profit for Purpose reinvestment programme.”