Around 80,000 people visited Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund again this year. From 31 January to 5 February, around 800 exhibitors from 38 nations presented themselves. That’s two more countries than last year. One third of all exhibitors were from foreign countries. The share of foreign visitors increased from 13 to 14.2 percent.

Due to the comparatively short travel distances, there have always been many visitors from the Benelux countries at JAGD & HUND. But in 2017, visitors from Bulgaria, Denmark, Great Britain, Lithuania, Austria, Somalia, New Zealand and more were welcomed at the exhibition as well. German visitors came from all federal states. Nearly every fifth visitor at JAGD & HUND travelled over 300 kilometres. This was the result of a visitor survey conducted by an independent exhibition market research institute. More than one third of JAGD & HUND visitors also stopped by at FISCH & ANGEL, which they rated as “good”.

Programme highlights for young people

The fishing association NRW also had some fun programme highlights for children at FISCH & ANGEL. Events for visitors and youth groups were offered every afternoon and the association presented its environmental education projects. The project behind this, “FINNE –Rediscovering the world of fish in NRW”, aims to acquaint children and young people with nature.

Several prominent bloggers came to FISCH & ANGEL on Saturday too. Including: the authors of “Hecht und Barsch” / “Leck mich am Barsch”, Babs Kijewski, probably Germany’s most famous angler, Jörg Strehlow, journalist and pioneer in angling guiding and trailblazer for sustainable angling, along with Patrick Owomoyela. The former Borussia Dortmund and German national team player is a passionate angler. Owomoyela also strongly supports the Royal Fishing Kinderhilfe and received a check for 2,500 euros from the Organiser to donate to this good cause. And that wasn’t the only attractive programme highlight at FISCH & ANGEL. For the fourth time, this independent angling exhibition, co-located with JAGD & HUND, presented an astounding variety of angling equipment and the latest industry trends. Demonstrations, presentations, and workshops provided expert know-how for all angling fans.

FISCH & ANGEL once again drew visitors from all German states. International visitors hailed, for example, from Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxemburg, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. Half of all visitors travelled more than 100 kilometres to the exhibition, including 12.8 percent who travelled even more than 300 km to FISCH & ANGEL. Angling equipment, accessories and clothing were the most interesting subjects for visitors. The most popular programme highlights included the fishing forum with numerous lectures, demonstrations on the art of baiting, rod construction, and fly tying. Visitors rated the entire range of offers at the exhibition as being “good”. The scheduling of the exhibitions is considered a major advantage of JAGD & HUND and FISCH & ANGEL and is rated especially positively by visitors.

Already now, 92 percent of visitors to JAGD & HUND and around eight out of ten visitors at FISCH & ANGEL have said they intend to return next year. In 2018, the two exhibitions will be taking place from 30 January to 4 February. Some comments on the show:

Dr. Michael Möhlenkamp, Managing Director of the Fishing Association NRW:
“Our members come to the exhibition specifically to ask their questions. We welcomed guests from East Westphalia, Sauerland, Münsterland, and Rhineland. We also had many school classes at our stand. Our offers for young people were highly popular. As an independent exhibition, FISCH & ANGEL continues to elicit positive responses from exhibitors and attract even more trade visitors. We are satisfied with the 2017 exhibition.”

Martin Winkler, Manager at Fischercenter Wasserburg:
“We’ve been participating here in Dortmund for 25 years and always enjoy returning. Today, FISCH & ANGEL is number one in all of northern Germany. We find that this is a high-calibre exhibition, with international visitors. Lots of hunters fish as well so JAGD & HUND next door draws additional visitors. We’re satisfied with the sales this year.”

Thorsten Trojan, Manager of RheinlandBoote:
“This was our first time here. The quality of customer discussions was good. The visitors asked targeted questions. FISCH & ANGEL is a quality exhibition. It’s scheduled on a good date, and, of course, the proximity to our core region, the Netherlands, is a big advantage for us.”