UFI releases second edition of research on the exhibition industry in Latin Americaa

Snow Xia

On 15 December 2020， UFI， the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， releases the second edition of The Exhibition Industry in Latin America report.

“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， 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.”

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.

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% of top-level positions in the region， and the significant number of venues （61%） 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% of the organisers surveyed believing there was significant room for growth and 35% believing there was “some room” for growth， while 26% 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 regions 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 metres （indoors）， and attracting 410，183 exhibitors and 68，540，806 visitors.

A total of 1，675 exhibition organisers were identified in the portfolio of 2018-19 events. Of these， 91% are local， 2% are subsidiaries and 2% are overseas and Latin multinationals. In terms of venues， Latin America offers 244 exhibition centres / convention centres designed to hold exhibitions or events， accounting for 2，366，794 gross square metres at the end of September 2020.

To archive this， organisers are growing their portfolios with 35% predicting at least one launch in the next year and 26% planning on 2-6 event launches. Technology and digital offerings have grown significantly as 86% of respondents added digital services/products around existing exhibitions. Interestingly， another 36% launched digital products not directly related to their exhibitions. Despite digitisations growth， LATAM venues report 52% of their income is still spacebased， and 72% of show organiser income is based on selling stands to exhibitors.

The report comprises 528 pages and is divided into six sections：

1.Industry trends in Latin America

2.Trends of exhibition organisers， venues， service providers and convention bureaus

3.Country market profiles

4.Regional calendar of exhibitions

5.List of service providers and convention bureaus

6.Macro-economic trends in the region

The report is available free of charge to UFI members in the members area of the UFI website.