Utrecht, 7 April 2026 - Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs looks back on a strong year. In 2025, the organisation grew in turnover, impact and international reach, while once again taking important steps towards its ambition to be the most sustainable and innovative event organiser and facilitator in Europe by 2030. With the organisation of 2,364 exhibitions, conferences and events worldwide, breakthroughs in digitalisation and sustainability, and a substantial growth in turnover, Jaarbeurs shows that its strategy is working. The turnover growth was partly driven by the international exhibitions in the agri-food segment. Jaarbeurs today presents the 2025 results in its annual report.
Connection, progress, change
Jeroen van Hooff, CEO Royal Jaarbeurs sees trends that explain growth. "For us, 2025 was proof that sustainable growth starts with loyalty. Customers and partners came back and chose Jaarbeurs more often and consciously. We saw this in the strengthening of our own titles, the intensification of relationships with industry associations and in an occupancy rate that once again showed that Jaarbeurs is the stage for events that bring connection, progress and change 365 days a year. We also introduced new formats such as Van Gogh the Immersive Experience and Winterwereld van Jaarbeurs, clearly meeting the need for such events in the wider Utrecht area."
Position nationally and internationally
Thanks to this solid base, Jaarbeurs was able to make targeted investments, for example with the acquisition of the Emigration Fair. It also invested in site renovations such as modernising public areas and parking facilities. At the same time, Jaarbeurs took a major international step in 2025. Especially in the agrifood segment under the VIV brand, the fairs grew into powerful knowledge and trade platforms. The strong increase in visitor and exhibitor numbers underlined Jaarbeurs 's strategic position worldwide and contributed directly to the 2025 turnover growth. The VNU organisation in Bangkok also achieved record turnover and launched new events, which also set the next step on the further growth path.
Ready for transformation Utrecht city centre
Van Hooff: "What makes me most proud is that we are achieving more with this growth than figures show. Within our organisation, we have set up a department that works on a future-proof and innovative portfolio based on data and expertise. We set up the Jaarbeurs Academy where our employees can further develop their talents in a tailor-made way. And 2025 showed that people, organisations and sectors come together at Jaarbeurs with an eye on today and on the future, to grow and to make choices or investments that have an impact in the long term. We also do this together with the municipality of Utrecht with a view to the transformation of the city centre in which we play an important role with our square metres. In short, we have a mature organisation in place, we are financially very healthy and we have a group of employees I am incredibly proud of. We are ready for the future that for us and our guests revolves around what is the flywheel of growth and innovation: the magic of live encounters."
