AEFI ECONOMIC OBSERVATORY ON THE TRADE FAIR SECTOR
The 31st quarterly survey on trends in the trade fair sector conducted by the AEFI Economic Observatory for the October–December 2016 period indicates a positive overall situation, confirming the development of the previous quarter and an improvement on the corresponding period in 2015.
The development of the sector and beginning of the recovery emerging from the previous quarters are confirmed by the confidence of member expectations for 2017, which seem to indicate that the most difficult period has passed and leave room for a new situation of growth.
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 – shows a positive trend for all the indicators considered: number of exhibitions, total exhibitors and visitors, space taken and total turnover. In particular, static situations decreased, promoting optimism.
The number of exhibitions is starting to grow again (42.30% of the districts in the survey hosted more shows and 38.48% recorded a static situation, highlighting the resilience of the system). The balance of +23%, equal to that for the end of 2015, is particularly significant when compared with that of the previous quarter (+8%).
The number of exhibitors has increased decisively: 57.71% of the 26 members who took part in the survey reported an increase, though a significant portion of them reported a downturn (30.76%).
The balance of +27% – the difference between those who foresee an increase and those who foresee a decrease – confirms the positive trend against the previous quarter, and is an improvement compared to the end of 2015 (+23%).
Analysis of where exhibitors came from shows a resurgence of 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 +12%.
Consequent to the increase in the numbers of exhibitions and exhibitors is the increase in space taken: 61.55% of respondents record an increase. The balance of +31% improves both on the previous quarter (+23%) and the same period the previous year (+19%).
The greatest contribution to the total space taken overall was made by Italian exhibitors, with a balance of +27%, followed by other Europeans with a balance of +23%. The balance of space taken by foreign exhibitors, on the other hand, is +12%.
The data on visitor intake was particularly positive: increasing for 61.56% of respondents, unvarying for 11.57% and decreasing for 26.91%. The balance of +42%, net of the static component, is slightly lower than the end of September 2016, but improves with respect to the end of 2015 (+35%).
The cross section of visitors highlights an increase supported by Europeans, with a balance of +38%, followed by Italians (balance +31%) and non-European visitors, who record a balance of +23%.
Finally, confirming a trend of recovery in the sector, the development of turnover in the quarter under consideration marks a balance of +35%, a particularly positive result both with respect to the previous quarter (+27%) and if compared to the last quarter of the last year (+31%).
The outlook for the year that has just begun is marked by great optimism, above all in terms of exhibitor numbers, increasing for 57.72% of the districts that took part in the survey, and also as far as visitors and space taken are concerned, with a predicted balance of +35%. Demonstrating the confidence of the sector, also as far as the number of exhibitions is concerned, the forecasts of members indicate a balance of +23%, an improvement both with respect to the previous quarter and to the last quarter of 2016 (balance +19% for both periods).
AEFI – the Italian Exhibition and Trade Fair Association – was set up in 1983 with a view to generating synergies between the most significant Italian exhibition districts. Specifically, 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 an international scale, 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. 95% of international trade fairs, and 85% of all trade fairs, which take place each year in Italy, are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.
For further information: www.aefi.it