EUROPE - UFI’s 9th Global Barometer confirms the exhibition industry has stabilised despite anticipated feelings of pessimism for its 2012 results.
The biannual survey, conducted by global exhibition industry association UFI in June 2012, was conceived to provide insight into the impact of the economic crisis on the exhibition industry.
As expected for the first 2012 edition, general economic considerations once again topped the agenda. However, widespread pessimism proved unfounded. The picture the survey paints instead appears rather stable, with an average of six companies in ten declaring an increase in their turnover for the last three years.
Depending on the region, almost 40 per cent of companies registered an increase in annual profits of more than 10 per cent, a proportion that has remained relatively stable for the past three years.
According to UFI, the only new finding appears to be a slowdown in the growth of turnover in both the Asia/Pacific region and the Americas in the past year, a decrease of confidence first indicated by the survey six months ago in the Asia/Pacific region. However almost half of all companies surveyed believe that this negative impact will end in 2013.
UFI MD Paul Woodward (pictured) said the survey shows that “apparently our industry is more conservative in their outlook than the results would show to be true.”
“The results of our most recent Global Barometer survey confirm that our exhibition media continues to outperform expectations despite the tough economic environment,” he said.
The results of the survey can be downloaded for free at www.ufi.org/research. The next UFI Global Barometer Survey will be conducted by UFI in December 2012.
India’s exhibition market posted an increase of 3.3 per cent according to recent findings made on behalf of UFI.
Any news? Contact exhibitionworld@mashmedia.net
