Whether you’re into “slacklining”, a balance sport that uses nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points, “parcours”, which means you run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only your body or “bouldering”, a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad, the outdoor industry exhibits creativity and an innate desire to explore what is new and innovative.
These more unusual, sometimes quite risky options for being active in the great outdoors are also definitely now on the rise in the economic sense as well.
Nevertheless, the most important economic factor in the industry still is and will remain hiking tourism: 40 million hikers spend more than 11 billion euro a year in Germany alone.
As a study on hiking as a leisure-time and holiday market conducted by the German Hiking Association reveals, the people who profit from this are primarily the outfitters as well as hotel operators and the restaurant industry. And the hikers might not be who you think they would be, i.e. the “down-to-earth-backto-the-roots”-type people. They can sooner be described as “cosmopolitan”, “critical” and “demanding” or as “realists”, people who like to experience nature and their environment, who want to do something to promote their health and who want to spend time together with the whole family. And there’s certainly no longer any lack of comfort – the outdoors people are now more likely to look for pleasant, upscale, high-quality accommodation to relax in luxury after a strenuous day on the hiking trails.
As far as equipment is concerned, there is a special focus placed on lightweight and functional products. But how do you know which products are functional and innovative with a long service life or environmentally friendly and sustainable? The OutDoor INDUSTRY AWARD provides assistance. This seal of quality, which has established an excellent reputation in the industry over the past five years, provides the retail trade as well as consumers with an endorsement of good design and a sense of orientation on a flourishing growth market.
The OutDoor INDUSTRY AWARD will already be staged for the seventh time in June 2012.
We, Messe Friedrichshafen as the host of this innovative award for the outdoor industry, look forward to receiving your entries in the race.
A personality who has made a special contribution to the topic of the outdoors will be honored as the “OutDoor Celebrity of the Year” once again this year. In 2011, Paul Petzl from France president of Petzl, a company for mountaineering and sports-climbing equipment and work-safety gear was the proud recipient of this award. A jury of international experts in the outdoor industry will decide who is to receive that honor this year.
The categories
