THE ISFCERT ANALYSIS OF THE EXHIBITIONS CERTIFIED IN 2013 AND 2015 CONFIRMS GROWTH IN TERMS OF VISITORS, DAILY VISITS, EXHIBITORS AND SPACE TAKEN

ISFCERT, the Italian Trade Fair Statistics Certification Institute recognised by ACCREDIA, has released the comparison of the 2013 and 2015 data for 57 of the international exhibitions who turned to the Institute to have their trade fair statistics certified. The analysis highlights an increase in the number of visitors, visits – understood as unique entrances daily – exhibitors and total space taken.

Going into the detail of the various indicators considered, the investigation reveals that global growth in terms of visitors was 3.51%, with Italians increasing by +3.53% and foreign visitors by +3.42%.

    2013    2015    Variation    % variation
TOTAL visitors    3,825,976    3,893,081    + 67,105    +3.51%
Italian visitors    3,153,388    3,209,004    + 55,616    +3.53%
Foreign visitors    672,588    684,077    + 11,489    +3.42%

Daily unique entrances increased by 10.36% in total (Italian +8.84%; foreign +15.99%).

    2013    2015    Variation    % variation
TOTAL visits    4,136,626    4,350,912    + 214,286    +10.36%
Italian visits    3,256,060    3,399,928    + 143,868    +8.84%
Foreign visits    880,566    950,984    + 70,418    +15.99%

The figures go on to indicate total growth of +5.69% in terms of exhibitors, with the increase in foreign visitors (+8.26%) doubling that in Italians (+4.42%).

    2013    2015    Variation    % variation
TOTAL exhibitors    64,520    66,355    + 1,835    +5.69%
Italian exhibitors    43,234    44,190    + 956    +4.42%
Foreign exhibitors    21,286    22,165    + 879    +8.26%

Finally, with reference to the surface taken, the exhibitions certified between 2013 and 2015 recorded a +6.30% increase.

These figures confirm the importance of certifying statistics to promote and provide credentials for Italian trade fairs in an international context. Within a trade fair system such as the one we have at present, globalised and highly competitive, those who attend fairs, whether exhibitor or visitor, increasingly need to assess and select which exhibitions they should concern themselves with. This includes the assessment and comparison of sound, comparable data, like that provided by certification that demonstrates the compliance of a service or product.

ISFCERT, the authoritative Institute for certification in Italy
ISFCERT, the Italian Trade Fair Statistics Certification Institute, was founded in 2005 by the AEFI, with the support of the CFI (Industrial Trade Fairs Committee), CFT (Service Trade Fairs Committee) and Unioncamere (Union of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture), to permit its members to meet the obligations posed by certain Regions and manage the requirements of completely reliable and transparent data for international and Italian trade fairs, to highlight the competitive quality of the Italian trade fair offer.
Since August 2005, ISFCERT has been on the Register of Certification Bodies, and since 13 December 2012 has been ACCREDIA-accredited (national accreditation body and member of the EA: European cooperation for Accreditation) as trade fair data certification body in accordance with applicable national and international standards (ISO 25639:2008 and ISO/IEC 17065:2012). It is also an associate member of the UFI, the Global Exhibition Association.
ISFCERT’s certification system, synonymous with transparency and assurance, has been developed in harmony with regional standards for the Italian trade fair system and the international UFI and ISO protocols. It employs a rigorous data collection methodology, certifying the quality of the trade fair product and the processes related to it according to the most rigorous existing international standards.