
An official at the Frankfurt Book Fair said on Monday that the numbers this year suffered a "slight drop". But the festival, at which China was guest of honour, is still by far the world's leading trade show for publishers, agents and authors.
A total of 290,469 visitors attended the five-day event that ended Sunday, a decline of 2.9 percent from record attendance in 2008 when the fair celebrated its 60th edition, said Peter Ripken, project manager for the fair's international centre.
It was nonetheless the second highest number of visitors ever, he added.
The number of professional visitors edged 2.7 percent lower to 180,155, Ripken said, while noting that was much less than declines of up to 20 percent seen at similar events like the Book Expo America or London Book Fair.
"The Frankfurt Book Fair has reasserted its role as the world's leader," Ripken said.
Argentina is scheduled to be next year's guest of honour at the fair, which is to run from October 6-10.
Source: AFP