Research
Exhibition evolution: The 2025 Global Industry Performances unveiled
he exhibition industry
T has entered a new phase following several years of pandemic-induced volatility. The upcoming Global Industry Performance Review 2025( GIPR) – published by jwc and set for release in January 2026 – takes an in-depth look at the current state of the industry and its key markets.
Ahead of the report’ s release, Exhibition World spoke with Lorenzo Garbujo, jwc’ s director and lead editor of the GIPR, and Timo Wanninger, consultant and co-author, who shared insights from the forthcoming edition and explained what readers can expect.
EW: What’ s new in this year’ s edition of the Global Industry Performance Review? Lorenzo Garbujo: We’ re pleased to present this year’ s edition of the GIPR, which reflects the continued growth and refinement of the report. The 2025 edition expands significantly in both scope and analytical depth, now featuring standardised market profiles for more than 30 key countries across all world regions – including selected African markets alongside those in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.
Unlike past editions, GIPR 2025 does not focus on a few selected individual markets. The new format provides comparable country coverage, offering a more comprehensive view of global macroeconomic trends and the dynamics of the business events
industry worldwide. In addition, we have significantly expanded our event database, with broader coverage of event-level KPIs. These data points form the foundation of our market profiling approach, as the insights across all markets are derived from aggregated event-level analysis.
EW: How would you describe the current state of the global exhibition industry? LG: The industry has partially stabilised following the post-pandemic rebound, but momentum is shifting towards structural transformation, with evolving event formats and portfolio consolidation in mature markets. Growth has returned, but it is increasingly characterised by shifting business models, innovation, and efficiency rather than pure volume. The industry is experiencing change, driven by shifting demographics and AI, but I also believe it can adapt successfully in a world increasingly hungry for genuine human connection.
EW: How are different markets responding to these shifts – and which ones are proving more resilient or better positioned than others? LG: We continue to see sluggish demand in mature markets, particularly for consumer shows. A number of these events are under pressure, leading to bold strategic moves – including the relocation of major shows, consolidation under unified brands, and even discontinuation in some cases. German Messen are streamlining their portfolios and continue to explore opportunities to export their top brands to high-growth markets in Asia and the Middle East. Overall, Europe remains relatively stable, with international participation rebounding in 2024. Interestingly, more players are now exploring internationalisation within Europe itself, signalling a new trend.
2024 was a moderately positive year for North America, with the US navigating a complex business environment and showing limited growth compared to 2023. The market remains below prepandemic levels, and full recovery is not anticipated before 2026.
Latin America stood out for its growth in 2024. Driven by strong performance in its three largest markets – Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia – the region has essentially returned to 2019 net rented space levels in 2024. Alongside the Middle East, it was one of only two regions to achieve this milestone.
EW: With traditional business models and mature markets under pressure, how are organisers redefining their strategies? LG: Organisers have been expanding their value propositions – no longer merely providing space and infrastructure for events, but evolving from event operators into ecosystem builders, creating business platforms
32 Issue 6 2025 www. exhibitionworld. co. uk