Research
Globex 2023 – The rebound of face-to-face
After a challenging couple of years , the global exhibition industry is making a robust comeback . In the latest edition of Globex , international business consultancy Stax has revised its forecasts upwards across major markets . Co-editor Athan Siah explores here the major drivers behind the latest Globex outlook and why it has been revised upwards compared to the previous year
Strong recovery forecast to 2025 The global exhibition market witnessed a strong post-Covid recovery in 2022 to 77 % of pre- Covid-19 levels . Different regions began rebounding at different points throughout the year , with markets like the GCC ( Gulf Co-operation Council ) and the US leading the way , having returned to full calendars by Q1 2022 . On the other hand , China ’ s recovery lagged most other major markets because the government ’ s zero-Covid-19 policies were only lifted in Q4 2022 , permitting the resumption of in-person exhibitions and international travel .
Globally , Stax expects the return
Globex 2023 Global Market Size Forecast to full calendars and reaffirmed the value of face-to-face to accelerate recovery . The global exhibition market is forecast to reach $ 26.6bn in 2023 , representing 95 % of the pre-Covid peak . It is expected to further expand to $ 30bn in 2024 and $ 32.5bn in 2025 , marking a 7 % and 16 % increase above 2019 levels , respectively .
It is worth noting these numbers represent nominal market sizes . Volume-based recovery was in the 85 % -90 % range in 2023 , and global NSM volumes are only expected to fully recover by 2025 . The gap between real recovery and nominal recovery can be explained by two
“ Marketleading events often hold the pricing power to increase NSM pricing in line with inflation , while smaller events struggle to pass on the full extent of cost rises ” factors : inflation and the elevation in digital revenues .
Amid the global inflationary environment in 2022-23 , increases in NSM prices were higher than usual , up to 6 % -8 % in some markets . In Europe , this was exacerbated by the energy crisis , which resulted in increased venue and operational costs . These price rises were not uniform across different events ; market-leading events often hold the pricing power to increase NSM pricing in line with inflation , while smaller events struggle to pass on the full extent of cost rises .
While NSM volumes are yet to fully recover , digital revenues have almost doubled since before the pandemic . Over the past few years , digital developments in the industry have also accelerated . Emerging from the pandemic , the emphasis has been on digital offerings which complement face-to-face exhibitions . These include activities leading up to the show and during the show itself , such as productisation of visitor data , matchmaking platforms , online sponsorship , etc . Nevertheless , effective monetisation remains an ongoing challenge as organisers seek to demonstrate measurable value of digital offerings to exhibitors .
Recovery across all markets except China There has been a robust recovery across most markets , with the exception of China . UK , Germany , and France , which are among the five largest markets and have exhibited varying recovery paths . In 2022 , the UK market bounced back slightly faster than France and Germany . From a holistic standpoint , mature markets , which have historically constituted c . 80 % of the overall exhibition market , rebounded more strongly in 2023 than emerging markets . This was largely driven by the lagged recovery
18 Issue 5 2023 www . exhibitionworld . co . uk