AEFI ECONOMIC OBSERVATORY ON THE TRADE FAIR SECTOR
The 35th quarterly survey on trends in the trade fair sector conducted by the AEFI Economic Observatory for the October–December 2017 period shows a positive overall situation.
The qualitative survey, which involved 26 AEFI-member Italian trade fair districts – through the positive and negative balances defined on the basis of responses from members who took part in the analysis (*) – highlights a positive trend: number of exhibitions, total exhibitors and visitors and space taken. The positive balances can be attributed above all to the Italian component.
The development of the sector is confirmed by the confidence of member expectations for 2018.
The number of exhibitions is starting to grow again (34.60% of the districts in the survey hosted more shows and 46.18% recorded a static situation, highlighting the resilience of the system). The balance is +15%, slightly less than that at the end of 2016.
The number of exhibitors has increased significantly: half (49.98%) of the 26 members who took part in the survey reported an increase, while 19.22% of them reported a downturn.
The balance of +31% – the difference between those who foresee an increase and those who foresee a decrease – indicates distinctly positive performance, an improvement with respect to the end of 2016 (+12%).
Standing out in analysis of where exhibitors came from are Italians and Europeans, both with a balance of +27%, compared to the less dynamic growth of those outside the EU, who record a balance of +8%.
Consequent to the increase in the numbers of exhibitions and exhibitors is the increase in rented space: 50.02% of respondents record an increase. The balance – +19% – is clearly positive, though less impressive than the same period last year (+31%).
The greatest contribution to the total rented space overall was made by Italian and European exhibitors, with a balance of +23%, while the rented areas by non-EU exhibitors provide a balance of +12%.
The data on visitor intake was also positive: increasing for 38.45% of respondents and decreasing for 23.06%. The balance of +15%, net of the static component, is lower than the end of 2016 (+42%).
The development of turnover provides, in the quarter considered, a nil balance, given the identical percentage of respondents who reported growth and reduction. The balance is lower than that of the final quarter of the previous year (+35%), affected by great tax pressure.
The outlook for the year that has just begun is marked by optimism, above all in terms of exhibitor numbers, increasing for 53.83% of the districts that took part in the survey, and also as far as rented space is concerned, with a predicted balance of +46%. The expectations concerning the number of visitors are encouraging, with a predicted balance of +38%.
*METHODOLOGICAL NOTE: The analysis is qualitative, in that it shows the trends in the sector according to the responses from the AEFI members who took part in the survey.
The positive and negative balances are not percentages of absolute values, but differences between the percentages of those who responded indicating improved and worsened situations.
AEFI – Associazione Esposizioni e Fiere Italiane, a private non-profit Association, was established in 1983 with the goal of generating synergies between the most important Italian exhibition districts. AEFI would like to be seen as a privileged partner for operators and institutions alike, and its role is to support members through the development of activities and programmes in the sphere of training, marketing, promotion and research, as well as to provide services for trade fairs through the activities of its Committees: Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, Legal-Administrative Committee, Internationalisation Committee and Trade Fairs Network Committee.
On the internationalization front, AEFI supports members thanks to agreements with strategic markets. To date, partnerships have been agreed with Iran, Taiwan, Lebanon and India, with AmCham, the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy, and with CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with SACE and SIMEST.
AEFI has promoted the foundation of ISFCert, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics which, through rigorous methodologies, enables Italian organisers to present and recognise standardised data, in the name of transparency and reliability.
AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 35 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. Nearly all international and national trade fairs which take place each year in Italy are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.
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