The situation in the exhibition industry is very favourable. Further increase in turnover is expected among trade fair organisers. One of the key trends for the year 2019 is development of trade fairs when concerning entertainment, which attracts younger visitors to trade fair events. These are only some outcomes presented in the UFI Global Exhibition Barometer, that is a report indicating the overall dynamics in the industry in the coming year.

The report was presented in early February at a prestigious meeting of managing directors from the exhibition industry – UFI Global CEO Summit. Polish exhibition industry was represented at the meeting by Tomasz Kobierski, vice-president of the board of MTP Poznań Expo.

– Participation in the Global CEO Summit, organised by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry UFI, is a great opportunity to have a global insight into the exhibition market and compare the strategy adapted by Grupa MTP with activities of industry’s biggest players. Comprehensive development of our services aligns with global trends. We think about fairs as part of the event industry with the focus on valuable content and spectacular, modern presentation – says Tobiasz Kobierski.

The Global Exhibition Industry Barometer is a flagship research conducted by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. The report outlines the situation in the industry as well as global and regional trends. It also presents 19 market profiles, including for the first time the Japanese market.

The data indicate that for each period from the half of 2018 to the end of 2019 most companies from all four regions of the world experienced increase in gross turnover. This positive picture is especially visible in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa regions, where the highest growth in the last five years was reported.

– When concerning year-to-year turnover, 74 percent of companies globally declared growth in the second half of 2018. 63 percent of companies expects growth in the first half of 2019, and as many as 69 percent in the second half of 2019 – says Tobiasz Kobierski summarising the data presented in London.

According to the industry leaders, the research also presents crucial business issues. All over the world economic concerns at a national or global level remain the most important business challenges. Additional topics are competition in the industry, internal challenges and digitisation.

Vast majority of companies plan new activities both in the classic sense of the exhibition industry in the scope of venue, organiser and service, as well as outside current product offers. Moreover,
a growing number of companies plan expansion on new geographic markets all over the world.

When concerning geographic expansion, on average 4 out of 10 companies declare the intention to enter new markets. Europe and the Americas show the steepest growth in this aspect when compared to the previous year: 51 percent of companies located in Europe plan their activities in at least one additional country (12 percent more than in the previous year) compared to 41 percent of enterprises located in both Americas (11 percent more than in the previous year).

The report also indicates that both the industry and visitors have similar views on the exhibition industry. This is reflected by global statistics of visitors, published by UFI and EXPLORI in Global Visitor Insights, which suggest the need to refine the “entertainment” component of exhibitions.

– For a long time, Grupa MTP has been paying much attention, apart from globally recognised business exhibition events, to congresses, conferences, cultural and sports events, including megaevents, which annually attract over a million of guests from all over the world. We stand out with rank, reach and quality of the organised events. We combine the best content, attractive locations and a full range of advanced services, ensuring complete success of the event – from technical service, interior arrangement, construction of exhibition stands, catering services through market analyses, guidance and comprehensive marketing services – stresses Tomasz Kobierski.

The twenty second edition of the barometer presents a new partner in the market research conducted every half a year: it is JEXA (Japan Exhibition Association). The research presents an overview of industry data, divided into types of companies and 19 separate market profiles. The data included in the newest edition were collected from 302 participants from 53 countries and regions.

– The data indicate that the exhibition industry aims at global expansion as a whole, but it experiences some obstacles in various markets and regions. A growing number of companies focus on their geographic reach in order to cope with any potential growth risks on their domestic markets – especially the companies based on mature markets – points out Kai Hattendorf, Managing Director of UFI.

– What is more, there is no single template of how to develop exhibitions to meet the growing demand for entertainment or interactivity, as indicated by visitors. The newest edition of the barometer indicates clearly divergent approaches to this matter over 19 carefully profiled markets all over the world. It is these profiles that make the barometer so special – claims Kai Hattendorf.