UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, continues to develop market research to provide reliable data on the international exhibition market. Several recent studies provide statistics giving a good picture of the industry at three levels…
UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, continues to develop market research to provide reliable data on the international exhibition market. Several recent studies provide statistics giving a good picture of the industry at three levels: venues, the events held in those venues and the companies who organize those events.
UFI’s 2011 “World Map of Exhibition Venues” identifies 1,197 venues with a minimum of 5,000 sqm of indoor exhibition space worldwide, corresponding to a total gross indoor exhibition space of 32.6 million sqm. This is an increase of 57 venues since 2006, with an overall growth of 3.4 million sqm (54% of the increase is related to new venues and 46% to extensions of existing venues). China accounts for 46% of the global increase with 69% of their increase relating to new venue construction. Europe and North America, followed by Asia, offer the highest venue capacities in 2011. Fifty five venues – 36 of them in Europe and 12 in Asia – have indoor exhibition space of over 100,000 sqm each. Five countries (USA, China, Germany, Italy and France) account for 59% of the 2011 total world indoor exhibition space.
UFI has also just released global estimates related to exhibition events with a minimum of 500 sqm of net space. It is estimated that a minimum of 30,700 exhibitions took place in 2010, a figure which corresponds to 103 million sqm of net rented exhibition space. UFI data shows that these events attracted an estimated 2.8 million direct exhibiting companies and over 260 million visitors. One significant change is the shift of 2% of the global market share in terms of space rented from Europe to Asia/Pacific. However, the European market (47% of the world total) is still more than double the size of the Asia/Pacific market (20%).
An in-depth analysis confirms that the exhibition industry is largely fragmented between a few very large companies and many small ones. Based on average numbers for 2009 and 2010, it can be seen that fourteen companies rent more than 500,000 sqm of net space on a yearly basis and 82 companies rent up to 50,000 sqm. Further analysis indicates that, on average, the “medium to large” companies (those that rented between 200,000 and 500,000 sqm per year in 2009/2010) performed better than either the smaller companies or the very large ones.
In 2011, UFI also released metrics related to regional exhibition market characteristics and trends. “The Trade Fair Industry in Asia” report (in cooperation with BSG) identifies most B to B events in Asia, accounting for 75% of that market. The “Euro Fair Statistics” whose most recent edition lists the audited statistics of 1,971 trade fairs and exhibitions held in 2010 in twenty-one European countries, represents 45% of the European market. UFI also produces a bi-annual “Global Exhibition Barometer” which assesses the key economic results of companies in the exhibition industry, including turnover and operating profit analysis. The results of the next barometer survey, currently underway, will be released in January 2012.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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