PARIS — The needs of business event planners are evolving, and industry partners must evolve their offerings to meet them—or risk losing out—according to the third edition of the Industry Partner Benchmark Survey, recently released by UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and developed by the UFI Industry Partner Working Group.
Although demand for services has increased slightly since the last survey in 2021, the perceived value of some service providers to event success has decreased. “Overall, the importance of services to event success remains notable, albeit slightly lower than in previous periods,” said Sebastian Witt, who leads UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group. “A possible explanation for the overall decline in the perceived value of service providers could be the increasing trend for venues and organizers to provide services in-house, thereby reducing reliance on external partners.”
He notes that this trend is not uniform across all services. For example, booth construction has seen its perceived value increase in terms of event success. “Overall, booth construction and catering are critical services that significantly influence the perceived quality of trade shows, especially from a visitor perspective. Given that attracting and retaining visitors is a primary objective for organizers, it is not surprising to see such high demand for these services.”
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Staff and security are also highly valued by event organizers, and communication and marketing are always considered the most important elements for the success of the event.
The survey also found a decline in demand for digital services. “Digital services and event software continue to be in high demand, but demand for hybrid and virtual event solutions is expected to decline sharply, likely due to the resurgence of in-person events,” Witt said.
This third benchmark survey of industry partners was conducted in mid-2023. Around 190 companies contributed to the project, the majority of which came from Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
The survey reveals that Europe is seeing growing demand for services, while demand is declining in the Asia-Pacific region.
“This trend reflects broader developments in the exhibition market, particularly driven by developments in China,” said Witt. “In 2021, China saw significant growth while Europe remained in lockdown. However, in 2022, this trend reversed as European markets began to reopen while China implemented strict lockdown measures. This shift continues to impact the market in 2023, contributing to lower demand for services in Asia.”
“Again, it’s important to note that this trend varies across different service categories,” Witt said. “For example, in Asia, we’re seeing increased demand for booth construction, marketing and communications, and equipment services.”
The Third Industry Partners Benchmark Survey can be downloaded from the UFI website at www.ufi.org/third-industry-partners-benchmark-survey.
Contact Sebastian Witt at switt@jwc.eu.com