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This month's return of Germany's FIBO - the international fitness and wellness trade show - has again highlighted the significant potential of wellness and health for fitness.

In time for World Health Day, the pull effect of the world’s biggest fitness trade show kicked in once again. 51,270 visitors came to Cologne from 7th to 10th April. FIBO also attracted experts on an international scale again - coming from 109 countries including Italy, Spain, France, UK and Poland, South Africa, Australia and Brazil but also from Israel and the United Arab Emirates. And they came with concrete projects and investment plans as well as the desire to discover a diversity of innovations long overdue but also many lifestyle themes for the international community. 

Benedikt Binder-Krieglstein, Chief Executive of FIBO organiser RX Austria & Germany, stated “FIBO 2022 has clearly shown: the industry is looking ahead – to new concepts and new target groups. Driven by an increasing integration of health in all market segments. Along the lines: ‘Health is Wealth’.

“I am proud that FIBO continues to be the trendsetting platform for the sector. More than 500 exhibitors were thrilled with the high number and especially the high quality of visitors.”

Fitness industry: key to more health
Health was clearly the theme in focus at this FIBO. “After two years with drastically restricted exercise options the importance of fitness for staying healthy has risen enormously yet again,” says FIBO Event Director Silke Frank and adds “The trend of using sports to promote health, prevent diseases and support healing is not new but was further accelerated by the pandemic. Fitness training, healthy nutrition and wellness have long become an integral part of holistic health prevention.” Regardless of age – as the interest taken by FIBO visitors reflected. 

Fitness has arrived at the virtual training world
Reaching out to people where they ‘gather moss’: in front of their TV screens. FIBO demonstrated which virtual stimuli get people to move, which target groups benefit particularly from eSports and gaming ranges and how high the demand for transformative solutions is - from the digitalisation of member management at gyms to App-based home workouts and mobile training equipment. 

Silke Frank, FIBO Event Director, noted "for the fitness industry FIBO 2022 proved the kick start everyone had long been waiting for. Many used the time to prepare for this moment. Over the past two years many products were developed, which could now finally be showcased to the public at large.

“FIBO has also shown how high the demand for digital solutions is - for business customers just as much as for our private visitors.” 

Easing of the market in Europe
The fitness sector makes a decisive contribution to relieving the burden on the health system with innovative equipment and training programmes. Correspondingly, all signs are set for an easing of the market. The number of gym members was already up by one million in Europe last year. The number of gyms in Europe also went up again slightly. These are the results of the 2022 European Health & Fitness Market Report carried out by Deloitte on behalf of Europe Active. The Report was published as part of the EHFF to kick off FIBO in Cologne.

In 2023 FIBO will be held from 13th to 16th April.

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17th December 2020 - FIBO 2021 re-scheduled to improve planning certainty for the fitness industry

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28th May 2020 - FIBO announces revised dates for trade-only fitness and wellness show

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