CHICAGO — Trade Show Executive’s (TSE) 2025 Q1 Dashboard reports positive growth throughout all key metrics measured, however the overall rates continue to trend down, suggesting that an equilibrium has been reached after the rapid post-pandemic rebound. The Dashboard details exhibit space, exhibitors, attendance and other show features for Q1 events and will appear in TSE’s June issue.
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Seventy-five trade shows comprise the 2025 Q1 Dashboard. Fifty-three of these gatherings experienced growth in net square footage (nsf) with 16 reporting double-digit gains. Exhibitor quantity was up at 44 events with double-digit improvements at 19 conferences. For total attendance, 43 meetings had gains in this category, 12 of which saw double-digit jumps. In terms of professional attendance, 35 shows gained in that metric with 12 reaching double-digit increases.
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After adjusting the data for outliers and shows without a consecutive two-year comparison, Q1 events in total occupied 15,219,493 nsf of exhibit space, gathered 45,375 exhibitors and convened 1,205,217 attendees, 547,434 of which were professionals. NSF growth slipped from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, falling from 2.5% to 2.0%. Exhibitors also lagged, dropping from 2.8% in Q4 to 1.5% in Q1. Attendance numbers were more positive however, with total attendees growing from 0.7% in Q4 to 1.2% in Q1 and professional attendance jumping from (1.1%) to 0.4%.
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The January 2025 edition of AED Summit in Orlando led all Q1 shows in nsf growth, with a 49.2% increase in that metric. Exhibitors were in abundance at MD&M West which boasted a 46.3% rise in exhibiting companies, the most of the events chronicled in the Dashboard. Coffee Fest New York recorded a 41.2% attendance boost, leading that category.
Check out the full Dashboard in the June issue of TSE Magazine. Subscribe to receive a copy today at https://tsx.magserv.com/cgi-bin/subscribe.
To submit show data to be included in TSE’s quarterly analysis, use this link: https://tradeshowexecutive.com/dashboardentryform.
