Research
Back to pre-emergency
When do you think this event will
return to the results of the last
edition in terms of...
...attendance of national visitors?
...attendance of international visitors?
19%
...attendance of national exhibitors?
...attendance of international exhibitors?
22%
...importance of the event in the sector?
...revenues?
17%
50%
52%
60%
By next edition
In two editions
In three editions
50%
50%
63%
43%
43%
32%
25%
23%
In four or more
editions
Never again
15%
When it came to industry
support, 71.6% of those
surveyed said that the industry
needs government and public
administration assistance, followed
by greater openness to digitalisation
and technology and co-operation
between events (i.e. working
together to great functional
calendars for the remainder
of the year).
More than 40% said they were
not expecting a recovery in
terms of revenues and number
of international visitors to prepandemic
figures before 2022.
Even though almost 50% of
respondents think the industry
reacted well to this crisis, there is
still doubt just how many events can
take place in the second half
of 2020; 72% agree that support from
the government is crucial in order to
overcome the current challenges.
Virtual
events...
Strongly agree
Slightly agree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Slightly disagree
Strongly disagree
Industry needs
Government and public
administration support
41.4%
38.6%
52.4%
52.2%
51.4%
71.6%
Greater openness towards digitalisation
and new technologies
Cooperation between events
(i.e. harmonisation of calendars)
Campaigns to change the negative
perception around trade shows
Offering customers alternative solutions
to the live event
Becoming a point of reference for the
entire event supply chain
Digitalisation, Big Data, and AI will be
the top three technologies in terms of
impact on the exhibition industry in
the coming years, the GRS research
found, and the market will benefit
organisers who will be successful in
providing effective matchmaking
solutions and year-round networking
opportunities. There is a significant
interest towards virtual events,
...are complementary to the live ones, to which they are still linked
which should benefit participants
particularly when it comes to
knowing what’s new in the market
and participating in seminars and
conferences.
These are perceived as short-term
solutions to overcome the current
restrictions, and will possibly be
complementary to physical events, but
are not expected to represent a threat
nor to replace physical tradeshows.
The Voice of the Exhibition Industry
research was carried out in June
2020, with over 550 respondents
from around the world.
The full report can be accessed on
the Expo Network website.
38% 36% 16% 8%
27% 43% 14% 12% 4%
29% 36% 18% 10% 8%
21% 35% 20% 17% 7%
10% 21% 28% 27% 14%
8% 17% 22% 32% 22%
6% 15% 23% 55%
Technologies with bigger impact
...can offer an alternative at a time of emergency like the one we’re experiencing
...can also be organised by non-exhibition institutions
...represent an interesting revenue opportunity for organisers in the long term
...will be ineffective after the emergency
...are a threat in the medium/long term to those who organise love events
...are meant to replace live ones
Digitalisation
(i.e. access
to content at
any time)
Internet of
Things
39.2%
Blockchain
22.1%
www.outlook.exponetwork.it/en/results
Virtual /
Augumented
reality
Big Data
(i.e. more effective
use of available
information)
77.9% 57.7%
Other
1.0%
43.6%
Artificial
intelligence
(i.e. improving
matchmaking)
56.6%
www.exhibitionworld.co.uk Issue 4 2020 19