Despite widespread anxiety over economic conditions across much of Europe, the OutDoor show eked out record attendance by drawing 21,730 attendees to Friedrichshafen, Germany two weeks ago.


The trade show attracted 21,520 trade visitors last year. An estimated 1,019 writers, editors and other media professionals from 28 countries were on hand to report on the 220 innovations and 907 exhibitors at the show, which ran from July 12-15.

“Prior to the show there was a degree of anxiety about the current economic slowdown and what impact it might have on the OutDoor”, explained Mark Held, Secretary General of the European Outdoor Group (EOG), in summing up the 19th edition of the show, which takes place on the shores of Lake Constance. “Well for sure the economic times are tough, but the outdoor industry demonstrated that it is resilient, forward looking and still full of enthusiasm. As a result, the OutDoor was just as vibrant, lively and exciting as ever and the number of attendees was just fantastic.”



Sixty-seven percent of trade visitors polled at the show said they came from abroad and 43 percent ranked the economic situation in the outdoor industry as strengthening, while another 39 percent marked it as stable. Eighty-five percent of those polled said they would be attending OutDoor next year.


 “The show went well,” concluded Rolf Schmid, CEO of the Mammut Sports Group. “Although you can certainly sense some uncertainty in the entire industry right now, we are convinced that this will soon pass and that everything outdoor will remain the mega-trend that it is right now.”