Hanover, Germany - Attendance at the Hanover Fair, a key expo of factory and industrial equipment, rose this year to about 210,000 visitors, despite the gloomy outlook for the world economy, German fair officials said on event's fifth and last day.

South Korea was honoured among the 61 nations attending as "partner nation" this year, and that status is to be held in 2010 by Italy. This year, the 500 Italian manufacturers exhibiting formed the second-biggest national contingent after the 3,000 German firms.

VDMA, the German machinery and plant engineering federation which is a sponsor of the fair, said earlier this week that world sales of machinery, which amounted to 1.58 trillion euros (2.09 trillion dollars) last year, would slump 10 per cent this year.

Most business people at the fair in Germany frankly admitted to reporters that the outlook was very bad, but Hanover Fair organizers sought to find a positive message amid so much gloom, praising the courage of the business community.

Wolfram von Fritsch, the fair's chief executive, said they had demonstrated a "never-say-die attitude."

Fair official Dietmar Harting attributed the increased attendance to a need among businesses to beat the competition by spotting new technologies that save resources and make manufacturing more efficient.

Last year's smaller fair attracted 193,000 visitors. This year's fair, with 6,150 exhibitors, comprised 13 sub-fairs, including four sub-fairs which did not take place last year. The showcase products at the Hanover Fair are factory automation systems. (dpa)