The German market is alive and still values Spain

The study was conducted with 440 event planners in companies and agencies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is a useful tool for suppliers who want to work with this essential market: Germany is the third outgoing market to Spain, behind the UK and USA.

¿Health of the German market? Average, but demand does not collapse. If between 2006 and 2008, over 90% of organisers planned to organise as many or more events the following year, this percentage dropped to 51% in 2009: 38% foresee stability and 13% even foresee more events. Another important point about the health of the market: the cancellations. During discussions with experts, agencies reported an increase in cancellations by their customers. And the paranoia continues: according to the study, even though the costs of cancellation can be as high as the budget of the event, the events are cancelled for image reasons. Between October 2008 and March 2009, the percentage of cancellations rose from 26 to 50%.

Europe is still in fashion

The demand for European destinations is stable. After a decline in October, 84% of respondents expect a stable or growing demand for destinations in Europe (versus 74% in October 2008). These destinations are more accessible, offer direct flights and shorter travel time, important factors when the “politically correct” thing to do is to avoid long-haul travel, for cost and image reasons. Spain, Italy and France continue to occupy the three top spots, followed by USA and the United Kingdom (whose value has improved thanks to the exchange rate). Netherlands rises 3% because of the proximity to Germany and the possibilities of direct arrival by train, plane or car, key criteria in times of austerity.

Conclusion: the German-speaking market is still strong, and offers opportunities for Spanish providers. And the recent statistics showing the return to growth of the German economy confirm this opportunity to go looking for German client…

The study was conducted in cooperation with IMEX. TMF GmbH is dedicated to market research, consulting and in the events industry (www.tmf-gmbh.de)