“Our teams have done a great job, in many cases achieving more than what was expected,” said Uwe Fischer, joint CEO of HMC. “As we make headway towards profitability, COVID-19 slowed us down but didn’t stop us. Annual sales revenues of EUR 133.7 million would surpass our previous top result in 2016 by some 20 per cent. We are thus anticipating a positive bottom line.” CCH made a significant contribution to HMC’s record revenues after earning its highest annual sales of EUR 18.6 million since it opened in 1973. However, some negative effects came into play in 2023, resulting in a preliminary annual result of EUR 43.6 million for Hamburg Messe und Congress, although the revenue target of EUR 73.1 million was exceeded by 10 per cent.
Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) is continuing its growth course and generated revenue of EUR 80.7 million in 2023 which acounted for an increase of 19 per cent over 2019. Around 554,000 delegates attended seven trade fairs and 34 guest events at Hamburg's exhibition centre last year. Around 126,000 visitors attended 56 events in the Congress Center Hamburg (CCH), which hosted its first full year of events since its redesign. Hopes are now high that a sales target of EUR 133.7 million can be reached in 2024.
Sales target exceed by 10 per cent in 2023
Stand-out events and congresses
HMC organized seven of its own events including the stand-out gastronomy fair INTERNORGA for the entire food service and hospitality market. The fledgling Polaris Convention, which targets mainly young people, was also a great success. More than 100,000 people flocked to the Reisen & Caravaning Hamburg and Hamburger Motorrad Tage trade fairs while the Online Marketing Rockstars festival for digital marketing and technology proved a great hit. Volkswagen presented a total of 14 vehicle designs for the next four years to some 13,000 sales agents from around 60 countries. Some of these models were subject to absolute secrecy. Apart from several major medical congresses, along with the return of the Chaos Computer Club, ICANN78 and Eurofurence 2023 were true eye-catchers among the year’s 56 events at the CCH.
2024 likely to be intense
HMC is organising nine trade fairs, around 40 guest events as well as 50 events at CCH including concerts this year. “This is going to be an incredibly intense year. Especially during the main season in autumn, with several global flagship fairs taking place, we are expecting large numbers of international guests on our campus and in the city,” said Heiko M. Stutzinger, joint CEO of HMC.
mm/pb