ufi_barometer
Photo Credit: Exhibition World

UFI has released the latest edition of its flagship Global Barometer research, which takes the pulse of the industry. While the results highlight the strong impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the global exhibition industry in 2020, the situation is gradually improving, and there is a strong belief that the sector, primarily driven by physical exhibitions and business events, will bounce back quickly.

UFI launched the barometer on the back of a global crisis – 2008 Financial Crisis – and this edition updates and adds to the previous ones released in the past 18 months to produce an assessment on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the exhibition industry, as well as projections for the future.

With a record number of 474 participating companies, the reach of this barometer is unprecedented. It enables UFI to share specific, vastly expanded insights into 23 markets and 5 regions.

Important remarks

The number of replies to the current survey (474 from 64 countries and regions – see the full list at the end of the document) provides representative results. However, the consolidated regional results may not reflect the situation of specific countries in that region. This is why the report also includes a set of detailed results for the 23 markets where a significant number of answers were obtained. Due to decimal rounding, the percentage values indicated in some charts may not exactly sum up to 100%.

ufi_barometer
Photo Credit: UFI

While the results highlight the strong impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the global exhibition industry in 2020, the situation is gradually improving, and there is a strong belief that the sector, primarily driven by physical exhibitions and business events, will bounce back quickly.

Globally the situation is gradually improving: the proportion of companies globally expecting “no activity” for the last quarter of 2021 has fallen from 53% in January to less than 10%, while the proportion of companies with “normal activity” has increased from 12% to close to 50%.

These results vary depending on region and are primarily driven by the currently confirmed or expected “reopening date” of exhibitions. While several markets reportedly reopened in June 2021, the majority of companies in all regions expect both local and national exhibitions to open again in the coming 12 months, and international exhibitions to reopen in the first half of 2022.

Read the full Global Exhibition Barometer (July 2021) here.

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