ISFCERT ANALYSIS CONFIRMS POSITIVE TRENDS IN CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
Analysis by ISFCERT, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics recognised by ACCREDIA, of the last two editions of the professional international exhibitions held in 2016 indicates a positive trend, above all as far as foreign exhibitors and visitors are concerned. An indication of great interest on the part of foreign operators in our trade fair market.
The analysis considered 53 exhibitions, classed as international and professional in character, which in their last two editions – 2015 & 2016; 2014 & 2016, in the case of biennials – turned to the Institution for certification of their exhibition statistics in accordance with the ISO 25639:2008 standard.
This is a significant number of exhibitions that exceeds 25% of the 189 international trade fairs scheduled for 2016.
The analysis highlights a trend of growth in the number of visitors, visits – understood as the number of unique daily entrances – exhibitors and total surface taken by exhibitors.
Looking at the various indicators considered in detail, the analysis of the certified exhibition statistics shows that the visitors, understood as the number of individuals who visited the exhibition, increased by a recorded total of 6.8%, with Italians increasing by 4.5% and foreign visitors by 8.6% with respect to the previous year. This figure indicates that the 53 exhibitions considered constitute an important occasion for the international market of the sector represented to meet.
The unique daily entrances, that is, the total viewing days dedicated to the exhibition, saw an overall increase of 8.6% (Italians +8%; foreign +10.9%).
There was an overall increase in exhibitors of 1.8%, with greater growth among foreign exhibitors (+2.3%) compared to Italians (+1.4%).
Finally, with respect to the net space rented to exhibitors, the 53 professional exhibitions certified in 2016 recorded an increase of 3.8% with respect to the previous edition (2015 or 2014).
ISFCERT’s analysis confirms the importance of exhibition statistics certification, which represents a demonstration of the compliance of a service or a product.
In an increasingly competitive market, exhibitors and visitors have an ever greater need to assess and determine which exhibitions to attend, which includes comparison of concrete and comparable data such as that from certification.
ISFCERT, the reference Institute for certification in Italy
ISFCERT, the Certification Institute for Exhibition Industry Statistics, was established in 2005 according to the wishes of the AEFI, with the support of CFI, CFT and Unioncamere, in order to allow members to fulfil the obligations set out by certain Regions and to address the need for certainty and transparency in international and national trade fair statistics in order to promote the competitive Italian trade fair offer.
Since August 2005, ISFCERT has been a Registered Certification Body, and since 13 December 2012 has been accredited by ACCREDIA – the national accreditation body and member of the EA, European cooperation for Accreditation – as an exhibition statistics certifying body in compliance with the national and international regulations in force (ISO 25639:2008 and ISO/IEC 17065:2012). Moreover, it is an associate member of the UFI – Union of International Fairs.
ISFCERT’s certification system, a synonym for transparency and guarantee, is developed consistently with the regional regulations concerning the national trade fair system and the international UFI and ISO protocols; it employs a rigorous data collection methodology, demonstrating the conformity of the quality of the trade fair product and of the processes connected to it to the most exacting effective international standards.