RIMINI, Italy — The European Exhibition Centres Association (EMECA) group of venues — 24 in total with the addition of ExCeL London this year — is a reliable indicator of the European trade show industry’s comeback. At its recent 30th anniversary and general assembly, held at Rimini Fiera on Italy’s Emilia-Romagna coast, the group reported that all members were nearly sold out, with most expecting a return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023-24.
Before the pandemic, EMECA members organised nearly 2,000 trade fairs per year across Europe, with 500,000 exhibitors and 38.5 million visitors.
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Ricard Zapatero, President of EMECA and International Commercial Director of Fira Barcelona, said the recovery has been different depending on the sector of the shows and their degree of regional/national or international reach. Large international shows with many foreign customers, especially from Asia, are still lagging behind. Some industries, such as ceramics, have been affected by the war in Ukraine, while other sectors, such as automotive and motorcycle, are not receiving spare parts due to supply chain disruptions. Some shows are even smaller and have fewer participants, both on the exhibitor and visitor side.
“There is also a difference between B2B and B2C events,” Zapatero said. “Local/regional audiences are very eager to attend B2C events or trade shows again, while companies sometimes still have more restrictive travel policies, so their staff can’t attend or are sending fewer people.”
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It remains to be seen whether the exhibition landscape in Europe and other parts of the world will continue to face this multitude of challenges, Zapatero said. “We host the majority of the world’s largest international exhibitions in Europe and we have the largest number of venues, representing more than 40% of the global exhibition space. Before the pandemic, the top 10 companies with the highest revenues in the exhibition sector globally were European.”
However, the last few years have shown that there is no substitute for the in-person experience. “We have learned how vulnerable our industry is when people can no longer travel,” Zapatero said. “On the other hand, we have proven that we are capable of organizing safe and healthy events and that there is no reason to shut down our industry again. To ensure this, we are partnering with UFI’s European members through the European Exhibition Industry Alliance to continue our advocacy in Brussels, focusing primarily on the conditions in the fall and winter in case of new COVID waves, to ensure that we do not have to shut down again.”
Contact Ricard Zapatero at (+34) 932 33 2000