Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

ProWein gets off to strong start, says fair director

Published:  24 March, 2014

Dusseldorf's international wine trade fair ProWein has got off to a strong start, with visitor numbers for day one slightly up on last year.

"[Day one] was quite good looking at the figures so far," Messe Dusseldorf's executive director Michael Degen told harpers.co.uk, saying that visitor numbers were slightly up on last year, but that it was "too early to say" whether this would continue for the rest of the fair.

"The most important thing on day one is that everything in the logistics runs well or almost perfectly from the very first moment - and that no-one is waiting six hours for details to be fixed on the first day."

He said that visitors arrived quite early for a Sunday morning, and that each section was well-visited.

"It's always a bit complicated to set up but this time it went well. It's said as a joke but internationally there are very high expectations and we have to deliver. We Germans communicate well but are less emotional - you expect German efficiency."

Degen said that the ProWein team had been working hard to push the message that visitors need to plan their trip effectively. "With 4,800 visitors you just have to have a plan, otherwise neither they nor exhibitors will be happy."

Overall, Degen said he wasn't looking for additional visitors, rather to maintain the "high quality" of visitors to the show. "This is the standard you can be sure of whenever you come to Dusselfdorf."

Read our in-depth Q&A with Michael Degen here, and stay tuned to the site for live updates from the fair. 

Keywords: