Research and White Papers
UFI: Global Exhibition Industry Has Bottomed Out
July 30, 2010
Although it remains a major concern among trade show organizers, many of whom are still struggling, the global economic downturn appears to have bottomed out for the global exhibition industry, according to UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, which this month released the results of its fifth UFI Barometer survey.
The UFI Barometer, which UFI launched in early 2009 in order to measure the impact of the financial crisis on its members, found that organizations rank "the state of the national/regional economy" and "global economic uncertainty" as their top two concerns for the year ahead, but that business is actually increasing for organizations in most parts of the world.
Exhibitions are faring best in Asia, according to UFI, which said 87 percent of industry professionals in the Asia/Pacific region expect an increase in business in the second half of 2010. Among those, 54 percent expect an increase by more than 10 percent of their 2010 annual profit, compared to 2008, and 58 percent say the impact of the economic crisis is over.
In the Americas, expectations are cautiously optimistic. Although nearly one in two industry professionals there expect their 2010 annual profit to increase by more than 10 percent over 2009, 62 percent believe the downturn's impact will persist into 2011.
Hardest hit by the recession, according to UFI, is Europe, where only 41 percent of industry professionals have experienced an increase in business so far this year, and where 80 percent say they're still feeling the impact of the down economy.
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