Global Venue Inventory to Grow by 13 Percent

According to UFI, the Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry, the worldwide inventory of exhibit space will grow by at least 13 percent, or some 3.5 million square meters (37.7 million square feet), by the end of 2010.

While nearly 469,000 sq. m. (5 million sq. ft.) of that space will be in the United States, most of the growth will be on the continent that many people would think is the least likely: Europe, which is projecting almost 1.8 million more sq. m. (20 million sq. ft.) of exhibit space to be available than there was at the end of 2006.

The statistics are part of a report UFI released late last year, calculating the total amount of exhibit space available throughout the world.

Delve a little deeper into the “World Map of Exhibition Venues” research report, and you'll find at least a partial explanation for the projection that calls for more than two and a half times as much new space in Europe as in the fast-growing Asian market (700,000 sq. m., or 7.5 million sq. ft.) during the same period four-year period.

“You've got Russia,” said Christian Druart, the UFI research coordinator who was primarily responsible for collecting and analyzing the data.

In fact, while the report notes substantial venue expansions in Spain, Germany and France, among other countries in Europe, it also points out that Russia (whose economy is growing almost as fast as China's) is expected to have 469,000 sq. m. (5 million sq. ft.) more space within the next two years.

The UFI study, conducted last year, included every indoor exhibit hall of at least 5,000 sq. m. (54,000 sq. ft.) that existed in 2006, along with all developments of at least that size planned to be open by 2010. Its authors pointed out that their 2010 projections may be low, because the plans of some venues around the world weren't formulated yet and couldn't be included.

The report didn't find that the main impetus for the growing inventory of space was a global industry growing just as quickly, but rather that it was the fierce competition for existing shows.

“The fact is that the competition is very strong,” Druart said. “If you want to keep a big show, you've got to expand.”

That is particularly evident when you consider how much new exhibit space is in the pipeline in the Middle East: about 200,000 sq. m. (2.2 million sq. ft.), or 38 percent more by 2010 than it had in 2006. That growth rate dwarfs Asia's (20 percent), Europe's (13 percent) and North America's (8 percent).

Druart said he had not analyzed the situation in the Middle East closely, but the region's economy, although generally healthy, is not growing nearly as fast as China's (which will have 18 percent more exhibit space in 2010), Russia's (103 percent) or India's (33 percent).

Paul Woodward, UFI regional manager for the Asia-Pacific region, said there could be trouble as more space becomes available in countries with tradeshow industries that aren't necessarily growing at a rapid pace.

“This is going to lead to fierce competition, both locally and internationally, to stop shows from moving,” Woodward said.