DALLAS—The 2023 Exhibition Industry Census from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) details the event count and size of U.S. business-to-business exhibitions that took place in 2019.
The 130-page report shares the high-mark measurement for trade shows pre-COVID. In the years since, the industry has been struggling to recover, which the recently released 2023 CEIR Index predicts will occur next year. Combined together, these two reports show where that recovery is likely to be most active.
The new Census report documents event activity for the continental U.S. and Hawaii, as well as the top-performing 50 U.S. cities. These rankings are based on four criteria: event count; net square feet of exhibit space (NSF); number of attendees; and, for the first time, a composite index for NSF and number of attendees. The composite index is meant to give a fuller account of an event’s size and economic impact.
Among the data sets, the Census drills down to venue type, monthly activity and even the distribution of metrics across each of the 14 industry sectors and their corresponding sub-sectors.
Related. CEIR Index Reports Trade Show Industry Rebound Continues
“The expanded information in this edition of the CEIR Census Report will be helpful to destination marketing organizations, convention centers and hotels in justifying new builds, renovations and expansions,” CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP-F, CAE, CEM, said.
The most recent CEIR Index report, which analyzed Q4 of 2022, showed a continuing but choppy recovery. Still, the direction was positive, the report said, with the overall Index and specific metrics improving for the past seven quarters. Among completed events, 23.6% have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels of the CEIR Total Index.
“This document is of high value to destinations looking to assess their performance relative to their competitive peer set and to organizers who are evaluating locations for future events,” CEIR Economist Dr. Allen Shaw, Chief Economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc., said.
Click here to purchase the 2023 Exhibition Industry Census for $1,200. The Census may be purchased in conjunction with the 2023 CEIR Index Report for a special rate of $2,092.50 here.
Reach Cathy Breden at cbreden@ceir.org and Dr. Allen W. Shaw at allens@gecainc.com
