UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has released the second edition of The Exhibition Industry in Latin America report.
The benchmark report significantly expands on the initial edition released a year ago, and now covers 16 markets in the region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Omnibus research presents regional industry trends applicable to companies in all industry segments, a regional calendar of exhibitions, regional and country statistics, and a regional economic review.
“We are very happy to show the results of our ongoing work to assemble and publish reference data for the exhibition industry across Latin America,” says Kai Hattendorf (pictured left), CEO and managing director at UFI. “The data shows the specific industry structures that exist across the region. Using our global methodologies and metrics, we can now also provide insights from this region, as well as comparisons with global industry developments.”
Some of the major findings and trends in the region, which were provided by 217 companies in mid-2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, include the prominence of women in the exhibition industry, who hold 31 percent of top-level positions in the region, and the significant number of venues (61 percent) that have undertaken a renovation plan over the last two years.
The study also shows the good growth prospects of the exhibition industry in Latin America prior the pandemic, with 50 percent of the organizers surveyed believing there was significant room for growth and 35 percent believing there was “some room” for growth, while 26 percent were also interested in developing between two and five shows in the next year.
The report also presents a regional exhibition calendar, which provides a comprehensive overview of the region’s trade show offer in a biennial context (2018-20). This analysis shows that more than 3,000 exhibitions take place regularly in Latin America, using 15,185,694 net square meters (indoors), and attracting 410,183 exhibitors and 68,540,806 visitors.
A total of 1,675 exhibition organizers were identified in the portfolio of 2018-19 events. Of these, 91 percent are local, 2 percent are subsidiaries and 2 percent are overseas and Latin multinationals. In terms of venues, Latin America offers 244 exhibition centers/convention centers designed to hold exhibitions or events, accounting for 2,366,794 gross square meters at the end of September 2020.
The report comprises 528 pages and is divided into six sections:
- Industry trends in Latin America
- Trends of exhibition organizers, venues, service providers and convention bureaus
- Country market profiles
- Regional calendar of exhibitions
- List of service providers and convention bureaus
- Macro-economic trends in the region
UFI is grateful to SISO for their support in producing this report, which will also give their members key data on this neighboring region.
The report is available free of charge to UFI members in the member’s area of the UFI website, and to SISO members upon request. Non-members can access the report by completing the order form here.
The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry: UFI is the global trade association of the world’s tradeshow organisers and exhibition centre operators, as well as the major national and international exhibition associations, and selected partners of the exhibition industry. UFI’s main goal is to represent, promote and support the business interests of its members and the exhibition industry. UFI directly represents more than 50,000 exhibition industry employees globally, and also works closely with its 60 national and regional association members. More than 800 member organisations in 83 countries around the world are presently signed up as members. Around 1,000 international trade fairs proudly bear the UFI approved label, a quality guarantee for visitors and exhibitors alike. UFI members continue to provide the international business community with a unique marketing media aimed at developing outstanding face-to-face business opportunities. For more info, visit www.ufi.org, call +33 (0)1 46 39 75 00 or email: media@ufi.org
