Research
New world venue view tracks investment and market share
UFI publishes new edition of its World Map of Exhibition Venues
FI, the Global Association
U of the Exhibition Industry’ s 2025 World Map of Exhibition Venues report, provides an updated overview of global venue capacity and infrastructure. Produced with jwc GmbH, the report tracks 1,530 venues worldwide with a combined 44.3m sqm of gross indoor exhibition space.
The new publication includes global and regional figures along with detailed profiles of 22 markets each offering more than 300,000sqm each.
The new findings show continued investment in venue development and a shift in global market share. Asia-Pacific now accounts for 38.1 % of worldwide capacity, ahead of Europe at 36.3 %, for the second consecutive year, North America holds 17.2 %. China remains the world’ s largest exhibition market with 30.9 % of total venue capacity, followed by the United States at 14.3 % and Germany at 7.1 %. And, taken together, China, the United States, Germany, Italy and France represent more than 63 % of global indoor exhibition space.
The UFI study identifies 81 venues worldwide that have more than 100,000sqm of indoor space. Europe and Asia-Pacific each host 38 of these facilities, with North America hosting four and the Middle East and Africa one.
The story is not all about traditional trade show strongholds: new venues in Barbados, Jamaica and Uganda appear in the data set for the first time.
The census covers all venues with at least 5,000sqm of indoor exhibition space as of the end of 2024.
Chris Skeith OBE, UFI CEO and managing director, says:“ Exhibition venues are a key component of our industry’ s growth, and this year’ s World Map once again highlights just how dynamic this landscape has become.
“ The Asia-Pacific region continues to outpace Europe in total exhibition space for the second consecutive year – a sign of shifting global momentum. The ongoing investment in venue development worldwide reflects the industry’ s confidence in the future of face-to-face business.”
Jochen Witt, president and CEO of jwc GmbH, says:“ The steady expansion of venue capacity demonstrates the resilience and long-term confidence driving the exhibition industry globally. By capturing these developments, this report highlights where new opportunities are emerging and how investments in modern infrastructure are shaping the future of exhibitions across all regions.” EW
n The 2025 UFI World Map of Exhibition Venues provides detailed insights for the following 22 markets: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The full World Map of Exhibition Venues report is available, free of charge, on the UFI website at: www. ufi. org / knowledge-hub. It is also available at www. jwc. eu. com. www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 1 2026 19