65 GL EVENTS | COMPANY REPORT 2014 | GL EVENTS EXHIBITIONS

GL EVENTS EXHIBITIONS

ENOVA PARIS, FRANCE 16 18 SEPTEMBER

GL EVENTS EXHIBITIONS : MARKETS AND TRENDS

The global exhibition organising market continued to grow, reaching US$23.4 billion in 2013 (up 3.7% from 2012). According to estimates by AMR, the United States remains the largest market in value (US$11.8 bil- lion) followed by Europe (US$6.4 billion for Germany, France, the UK, Italy combined). In 2013, China moved ahead of France and the United Kingdom. After a period of steep recession followed by stagna- tion, the market began to turn around in 2010, and in 2011 began to show signs of a real recovery. Fig- ures for visitors and exhibitors in particular returned to pre-recession levels, and even surpassing them in the case of certain emerging markets. These latter markets also included significant vari- ations: China remained solid with growth of 8% and India with 9%. Other regions produced strong gains: GCC countries (Gulf Cooperation Council - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman (Muscat), Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait), were up 13% from 2012.

At present, emerging countries now account for 28% of total worldwide exhibition space, up 5% from 2009. The strongest gains were registered by Gulf Coopera- tion Council (GCC) countries (+10%). For mature countries the situation was very uneven in 2013: 7% growth in Germany, a sharp 16% decline in Italy in response to a strained economic climate pre- cipitating a decline in both available exhibition space and the sales price per square meter. In France, there was a significant increase in the number of exhibitors. This increase, along with the rise in the number of visitors at B2B events, highlight renewed interest in this media for commercial relations and marketing in the corporate segment. The climate for consumer fairs in contrast remains tied to a weak and uncertain spending outlook. How- ever, fairs devoted to communities of enthusiasts like Equita have been increasingly successful.

* Sources: AMR The global exhibition organising market