Studies Show Strength in Industry

Washington, D.C.—Attendees at the Exhibition Industry Senior Executives Summit at the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center were privy to a wealth of data, both on the meetings and exhibitions industry and its place in the larger economy.

The Convention Industry Council took advantage of the Sept. 13 EISES, organized by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, to unveil its 2004 Economic Impact Study, CIC's first since 1994. As the 30-member coalition of professional associations representing meetings, conventions, exhibitions and incentive travel, CIC sought to convey the economic strength of all these segments combined.

Working with Veris Consulting and using data contributed by 10 organizations and publications, CIC found that the industry last year generated $122.3 billion in direct spending and 1.7 million full-time equivalent jobs.

Of the total direct spending in the United States, conventions and exhibitions accounted for $67.9 billion, or 55.5 percent. Meetings accounted for $48.1 billion (39.4 percent) and incentive travel for $6.2 billion (5.1 percent).

"The meeting, convention and exhibition industry has been invisible to economists and press outside our industry. We talk to each other, but not the outside world," said CIC President Mary Power, adding that she hoped the report would provide a basis to change this.

Power pointed out that if the direct spending number were inserted in numerical order into a categorical list of economic performance by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the meeting, convention and exhibition industry would come in 29th, between nursing and residential care facilities, and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.

Also at the EISES meeting, Tradeshow Week Publisher Adam Schaffer presented highlights of the 2005 CEIR Exhibition Industry Census. The census, published by CEIR and TSW with analysis by TSW, gathers information from a variety of sources to give as complete a count as possible of events taking place in the United States and Canada.

According to the census' top-line data, 14,124 events are slated for 2005, compared with 13,185 in 2000. Of those, 48 percent are scheduled in convention centers and 32 percent in hotels this year, compared with 38 percent in convention centers and 37 percent in hotels five years ago.

CEIR President and CEO Doug Ducate also gave the final results of CEIR's 2004 Exhibition Industry Index, released in June. The index showed improvement in every measure: net square feet, number of exhibiting companies, professional attendance and revenue.

Ducate noted that his goal is to add 750 additional events to the index this year, and eventually produce it quarterly. Asked whether the index could be used to forecast, Ducate replied, "That is the goal of this event (EISES)."

Steven Hacker, president of the Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management, said the reports provided insight into the industry. "The CIC data supports the CEIR data, and both reveal the enormous strength, resilience and importance of the industry," he said.