Freiburg Economy Tourism and Exhibition

Name

Freiburg Economy Tourism and Exhibition

Legal name

Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://fwtm.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Fair and Convention Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Convention & Exhibition Center Operations (Expo Halls, Trade Show Venues) (MPAGALAD)

Keywords

• Trade fair management
• Convention venue services
• Economic development services
• Tourism promotion
• Event organization

Headquarters

HQ city

Freiburg Im Breisgau

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Exhibition and Convention Services: Organizing and hosting exhibitions, congresses, and conventions at Messe Freiburg venue, including managing guest events, markets, and large-scale trade shows like The Smarter E Europe
2. Economic Development Services: Providing economic promotion, tourism development, and business support services for the city of Freiburg and surrounding region

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

FWTM is the municipal company of the City of Freiburg that organizes trade fairs, congresses, conventions, and cultural events, and operates three owned venues — Messe Freiburg, Konzerthaus Freiburg, and Historisches Kaufhaus. Beyond event hosting, it delivers Wirtschaftsförderung (economic development services such as cluster support, startup assistance, and commercial space brokerage) and Tourismusförderung (tourism promotion via the Visit Freiburg brand). The company also co-organizes The Smarter E Europe, Europe's largest alliance of energy industry exhibitions, alongside Solar Promotion GmbH.

Product overview

Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe (FWTM) is a municipal company managing a diverse portfolio of services for the city of Freiburg, Germany. The company operates as a platform spanning three core areas: economic development (Wirtschaftsförderung), tourism promotion (Tourismusförderung), and event/conference management (Veranstaltungen/Messen). Key venues under management include Messe Freiburg, Konzerthaus Freiburg, and Historisches Kaufhaus. Through its events division, FWTM co-organizes The Smarter E Europe, Europe's largest alliance of energy industry exhibitions, which encompasses Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, and other specialized exhibitions focused on solar, storage, electromobility, and intelligent energy management. The company serves approximately 175 employees and maintains networks across Freiburg, Southern Baden, Europe, and globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Messe Freiburg Primary exhibition and trade fair venue in Freiburg, hosting conferences, exhibitions, and large-scale events for various industries. Rented to enterprise and association clients organizing trade shows and congresses.
• Konzerthaus Freiburg Concert hall venue in Freiburg operated as a major cultural and musical performance center, available for cultural events and conventions.
• Historisches Kaufhaus Historic marketplace building in Freiburg used for events, ceremonies, and cultural gatherings, managed by FWTM.
• The Smarter E Europe Europe's largest alliance of energy industry exhibitions, co-organized by FWTM and Solar Promotion GmbH, uniting exhibitions focused on solar, storage, electric mobility, and intelligent energy management. The 2026 edition attracted approximately 105,000 trade visitors from 163 countries and 2,650+ exhibitors from 52 countries across 206,000 square meters of exhibition space.
• Intersolar Europe Part of The Smarter E Europe alliance, focusing on solar energy products, hybrid PV systems, and solar financing models. The 2026 edition hosted approximately 2,800 exhibitors and 100,000 visitors discussing market shifts, financing models, and storage solutions.
• ees Europe Part of The Smarter E Europe alliance, focused on large-scale battery storage systems, energy storage technologies, and stationary storage solutions.
• Wirtschaftsförderung (Economic Development Services) Economic development services for the Freiburg region, including cluster and network support, startup and founding support, skilled workforce attraction, and commercial space brokerage for businesses.
• Visit Freiburg (Tourismusförderung) Official tourism promotion brand for the city of Freiburg, providing visitor information, destination marketing, and tourism network partnerships aimed at leisure and business travelers.
• Veranstaltungen (Event Management Services) Event organization and hosting services including trade shows, congresses, markets, and public events, as well as management of FWTM's event venues for guest events.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 105,000 trade visitors from 163 countries attended The Smarter E Europe 2026

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Solar Promotion GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2026FWTM co-organizes The Smarter E Europe exhibition alliance with Solar Promotion GmbH. This is Europe's largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, featuring events focused on solar, storage, electric mobility, and intelligent energy management. The partnership combines FWTM's municipal event expertise with Solar Promotion's industry knowledge to deliver large-scale renewable energy exhibitions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Messe München: Operates one of the world's largest trade fair complexes in Munich and is the actual venue host of FWTM's flagship The Smarter E Europe. Directly comparable as a German trade fair venue operator and co-organizer of large-scale B2B exhibitions.
• Koelnmesse: Cologne-based trade fair and exhibition organizer running events such as gamescom, ANUGA, and IDS. Closely comparable as a German regional trade fair operator organizing flagship industry exhibitions across multiple sectors.
• Hamburg Messe und Congress: Hamburg's municipal trade fair and congress operator, running events such as SMM and INTERNORGA. Closely comparable as a publicly-owned German venue operator with a similar municipal mandate to host trade fairs and congresses.
• Messe Düsseldorf: Operator of Düsseldorf's trade fair complex, hosting global events like drupa, K, and MEDICA. Comparable as a German trade fair venue operator with a strong B2B industry exhibition portfolio.
• NürnbergMesse: Nuremberg-based trade fair organizer running events such as Spielwarenmesse, Embedded World, and it-sa. Comparable as a mid-sized German regional trade fair operator with strong B2B industry exhibitions.
• Stuttgart Messe: Operates Messe Stuttgart's trade fair complex in southern Germany, close to FWTM's geographic footprint in Southern Baden. Comparable as a German regional trade fair and congress venue operator.

Broad incumbents

• Messe Frankfurt: Germany's largest trade fair organizer and venue operator (including Ambiente, Heimtextil, ISH). Comparable to FWTM as a German trade fair powerhouse, but at materially larger scale and with a much broader global portfolio.
• Deutsche Messe (Hannover Messe): Operator of Hannover Messe, the world's leading industrial technology fair. Comparable to FWTM as a German trade fair organizer, but at much larger scale with a global industrial technology focus.
• Reed Exhibitions (RELX): World's largest private exhibition organizer, running hundreds of B2B trade shows globally. Comparable to FWTM in the trade show organizing business but at vastly larger scale, privately capitalized, and operating across all major geographies.

Regional players

• Messe Basel: Swiss trade fair organizer and venue operator based in Basel, running events such as Art Basel and Swissbau. Comparable in business model (regional trade fair venue operator) but serving a different (Swiss) market rather than directly competing with FWTM in Freiburg.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Freiburg Economy Tourism and Exhibition