Attaining International Mass Appeal

In the southwest of Germany， near the French border， lies the city of Karlsruhe， a city of tradition on great inventions and innovation： it is the home of Gottfried Benz， who invented the automobile. As of today， Karlsruhe has been a place of great technical innovations. Three Fraunhofer Institutes as well as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology work on scientific and technological projects for the future. Karlsruhe′s Technology Region is therefore one of the strongest economic regions in Europe， with a gross domestic product per inhabitant well above the EU average. Efficient regional networks and clusters in industries such as energy， nanotechnology， automotive， information and communication technology generate tremendous competitive advantages.

From a tourist′s point of view， Karlsruhe is one of the largest cities with access to the black forest. The city itself， as a tourist center， is designed with its uniquely fanshaped layout centering on its beautiful castle and its over 800 hectares of parks. Main highlight is the Trade Fair Center of Karlsruhe， which brings together people for business and investment opportunities. The “art Karlsruhe”trade fair， for example， attracts fifty thousand visitors each year， is one of the top three art shows in German speaking countries. It catapulted Karlsruhe onto the map of the art trade in 2004. Now 220 galleries from 13 countries see revenues in the millions， while the attendees give the event top ratings.

The Trade Fair Center not only draws large crowds， but is also a significant economic factor in the region. Karlsruhe has a trump card– innovative and forward-looking trade fairs and conventions featuring new themes， which are developed in close cooperation with the research and business communities. Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress GmbH （KMK） consistently organises conventions and trade fairs focusing on the fields of IT， science， commerce， law， medicine， politics and society. Right in the heart of the city you′ll find four world-class locations and 20，000 square meters of exhibition space， it is one of Germany’s largest convention centers with enough capacity for up to 13，000 guests.

In 2013 the convention business unit again reached the record numbers achieved in 2012， which KMK Managing Director Britta Wirtz attributes to a “consistent marketing and new-business strategy that focuses on the location’s strengths.”With its strong network of research facilities， institutes of higher education and high-tech enterprises， Karlsruhe is the perfect place to hold prestigious conventions in scientific fields. The ICRA， the worlds largest scientific conference on robotics， was therefore held in Karlsruhe.

The Trade Fair Center itself offers exhibitors and visitors four halls with a total of 52，000 square metres of exhibition space （plus an outdoor area offering 60，000 square metres）. It is constructed without interior pillars in the halls and features an architecturally distinctive facade and overhanging roof. A unifying theme of independence， innovation and creativity can be recognised at the Karlsruhe trade fair organizer. The Karlsruhe Congress and Trade Fair Center has played host to widely viewed events such as trade fairs like WTT-Expo， HallTec and PaintExpo， which show innovative regenerative energy generation systems and heat recovery systems for energy efficient and environmentally friendly production. Over the years， trade fairs and conventions developed in Karlsruhe have become institutions， growing in size and importance. The LEARNTEC exhibition is the most important international platform for IT supported learning. Over 20 years of competence in content and IT speaks for itself. Therefore the LEARNTEC is the meeting point for the e-learning and professional education industry， growing into the field of IT-supported learning in schools since 2014. The region’s successful IT industry has flourished also trade fairs like IT-TRANS， the meeting point for decision makers in the global public transport sector.

In 2014， Karlsruher Messe-und Kongress GmbH is on solid footing. It has booked contract extensions and new events for the current and coming years， while major clients have committed to continuing their long-term partnership with KMK to organise multiple trade fairs and events. Tradition and innovation go hand in hand. While offerta， a consumer goods trade fair， tops the chart （with 140，000 visitors in 2013） of well-established events， debut events such as a trade fair for the pet industry drew more than 37，000 visitors to the halls of the Karlsruhe Trade Fair Center in 2013.

With its Mediterranean climate， Karlsruhe is waiting for you： with its open minded people， chic lifestyle， gourmet cuisine， and a uniquely‘green’ atmosphere.