AEFI ECONOMIC OBSERVATORY ON THE TRADE FAIR SECTOR: a positive end of year for Italian trade fairs, confirming a growth trend
The 26th quarterly survey on trends in the trade fair sector conducted by the AEFI Economic Observatory for the October–December 2015 period indicates an overall situation of recovery compared to the previous quarter as well as the corresponding period in 2014.
The 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 for all the indicators considered: number of exhibitions, total exhibitors and visitors, space taken and total turnover. In particular, static situations decreased, increasing optimism.
The number of exhibitions is starting to grow again (38.45% of the districts in the survey hosted more shows and 46.18% recorded a static situation, highlighting the resilience of the system). The balance of +23% is particularly telling.
The number of exhibitors, with a balance of +23% for the members that took part, confirms the positive trend of the previous quarter when the balance was +16%.
Analysis of where exhibitors came from shows a distinct resurgence of Italians, with a balance of +27%, while other Europeans remained stable and foreign exhibitors from outside the EU had a balance of +4%.
Space taken is expanding too: 46.14% of respondents recorded an increase, though the balance of +19% was less dramatic than that of the previous quarter (+29%). Italian exhibitors made the greatest contribution to extending the total space taken, with a balance of +15%, while the areas occupied by foreign exhibitors recorded a slight decrease.
The data on visitor intake was particularly positive: increasing for 61.52% of respondents, unvarying for 11.57% and decreasing for 26.91%. The balance of +35%, net of the static component, confirms the positive dynamic, with a marked increase with respect to the previous quarter (+25%).
The cross section of visitors highlights a sustained increase in Italians, with a balance of +27%, followed by Europeans (balance +19%). The results from outside the EU are stable, with a balance of nil. The more restrained growth rate for foreign visitors can be attributed principally to the decreased travel caused by geopolitical tensions recorded in the last quarter of the year.
Finally, confirming a trend of recovery in the sector, the development of turnover in the quarter under consideration marks a balance of +27%, a particularly positive result despite the slight decrease with respect to the previous quarter (+33%).
The outlook for the year that has just begun is marked by great optimism, above all in terms of exhibitor numbers, increasing for 46.14% of the districts that took part in the survey, and also as far as visitors are concerned, with a predicted balance of +35%.
The AEFI figures are authoritatively confirmed through comparison with the analysis performed by ISFCERT, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics, recognised by ACCREDIA for the last quarter. Analysis of trends in the last two editions of 57 of the international exhibitions that turned to the Institute for certification of their exhibition statistics between 2013 and 2015 highlights increased numbers of visitors, visits – understood as the number of unique daily entrances – exhibitors and total surface taken.
In detail: visitors increased by 3.51% in total, with Italians increasing by +3.53% and foreigners by +3.53%; overall, unique daily entrances increased by 10.36% (Italian +8.84%; foreign +15.99%). The figures also point to an overall increase in exhibitors of +5.69%, with growth among foreign exhibitors (+8.26%) doubling that of Italians (+4.42%). Finally, with regard to the surface taken, the exhibitions registered between 2013 and 2015 recorded +6.30.
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: the Exhibition Hub Technical Committee, the Administrative-Legal Committee, the Trade Fairs Network Committee, the IT and Technical Innovation Committee, and the new Initiatives and Programmes Committee.
On an international scale, AEFI represents Italian trade fairs in UFI – Union of International Fairs. Chaired by Ettore Riello, AEFI includes 34 member exhibition districts, which organise over 1,000 events a year over an overall exhibition area of 4.2 million square metres. Most international trade fairs, and 85% of all trade fairs, which take place each year in Italy, are held in AEFI-member exhibition districts.