The Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released its 2021 CEIR Index Report, 20 September, and it predicts a “dramatic rebound in 2022” for the exhibition industry.
The report analyses the 2020 business-to-business (B2B) exhibition industry performance and provides an economic and exhibition industry forecast for the next three years.
A forecast update of the CEIR Index Report was presented at the CEIR Predict conference,13-14 September, at the MGM National Harbour in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This year’s conference focused on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exhibition industry, as well as a post-pandemic outlook and possible scenarios.
Dr Allen Shaw, chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc., said: “In the baseline scenario, impact of Covid-19 diminishes, and the exhibition industry should see a dramatic rebound in 2022, exceeding 100% year-over-year increases in all 14 sectors, albeit from a low base in 2021. By the end of 2023, the exhibition industry is expected to fully recover.”
The CEIR Index Report provides data on the US B2B exhibition industry across 14 key sectors. As an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibition industry, the CEIR Index measures year-over-year changes in four key metrics to determine overall performance: net square feet (NSF) of exhibition space sold, professional attendance, number of exhibiting companies, and gross revenue.
The 14 industry sectors are:
- Business Services (BZ)
- Consumer Goods and Services (CG)
- Discretionary Consumer Goods and Services (CS)
- Education (ED)
- Food (FD)
- Financial, Legal and Real Estate (FN)
- Government (GV)
- Building, Construction, Home and Repair (HM)
- Industrial/Heavy Machinery and Finished Business Inputs (ID)
- Communications and Information Technology (IT)
- Medical and Health Care (MD)
- Raw Materials and Science (RM)
- Sporting Goods, Travel and Entertainment (ST)
- Transportation (TX)
Cathy Breden, executive vice-president and COO of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), said: “The past 20 months have been a real struggle for the exhibition industry, and there remains a great deal of uncertainty. Exhibition organisers have demonstrated through health and safety measures that our events can be safely held. It is through data gathered for the Index that CEIR is able to generate economic impact figures related to the US GDP.”
Tommy Goodwin, vice-president of Exhibitions and Conferences Alliance’s (ECA) government affairs, added: “Each year, the Index has the up-to-date data that we need to demonstrate to federal policymakers that the business-to-business exhibitions industry is an economic engine that drives jobs and commerce from coast to coast.”
Click here for information on the 2021 CEIR Index Report.