Using data collected from more than 900 exhibitions in 30 countries, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) has created a report assessing visitor insights and how they differ depending on where you are on the globe. Studies were conducted online after events, asking questions about visitor objectives, satisfaction, advocacy, event importance, and likelihood of future attendance. To gather a wide sampling, researchers included data from events with 500 to 100,000 visitors, canvassing everything from small regional events to large multi-national organizers. The research was also collected from a variety of industries ranging from beauty and cosmetics to security and defense.
On a net promotor score, the Americas were ranked highest by attendees at +20, while the Asia/Pacific region is at the bottom with -6. The Americas also came out on top of the overall satisfaction score (3.95), while the Asia/Pacific region had the lowest at 3.69. The Middle East/Africa ranked first in likelihood of return (4.13), while the Americas (3.9) and Europe (3.89) were at the bottom.
Researchers found that attendees at shows in more developed market tended to have higher satisfaction, but the dissatisfaction expressed in less developed markets didn’t stem from what researchers called “hygiene issues” such as layout or catering. Rather, attendees gave hard marks to events that they felt fell short in delivering the innovation that attendees expected. When the innovation presented fell short, attendees from less developed markets were more likely to return than those who were disappointed with more established shows. But across the board, the report says, innovation was the number one driver of satisfaction compared to educational content or networking no matter what region in which the event took place. The report is available for free at ufi.org.
