Inaugural EEAA Market Monitor reveals state of the events industry

Published On:May 8, 2012

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has launched the inaugural EEAA Market Monitor and it reveals a strong and vibrant industry that injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the Australian economy. The report shows that 12 new shows are expected to be launched in 2012.

Covering the second half of 2011, the EEAA Market Monitor found that close to 1 million visitors attended events organised by Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia members, with 11,278 exhibitors participating. Half of all trade shows also included a conference or seminar component.

As a source of employment, EEAA members provided jobs for 2,654 full time staff, 5,390 casual or part time staff and 2,002 contractors and this is before factoring in the boost to exhibitor companies, hotels, restaurants, transport operators and other businesses that receive flow-on benefits.

EEAA General Manager Joyce DiMascio said the EEAA Market Monitor, a new initiative that will be conducted bi-annually, captured previously undocumented insights into the health and performance of the Australian exhibition and event industry. “It is very exciting to have such a clear insight to the health of the industry provided directly by the venues, organisers and suppliers in our membership. The EEAA Market Monitor will be an invaluable resource to support our advocacy work on behalf of our membership. It provides much needed facts and will allow us to track key trends,” Ms DiMascio said. “Having credible evidence-based data provided by the EEAA Market Monitor puts us on a strong footing in our representations to stakeholders, including government, international industry associations, the media, universities, training institutions and investors.”

The EEAA Market Monitor was produced by independent research company, Micromex Research. Micromex Research CEO, Warren Liackman said there were positive findings from the data, particularly the level of optimism expressed by EEAA members. “More than half the organisers surveyed are presenting new events this year and 59 per cent of suppliers reported an increase in turnover,” Mr Liackman said.

“The EEAA Market Monitor also showed that NSW is the biggest events and exhibitions destination, hosting 36 per cent of events against Victoria’s 17 per cent.”

Trade events had the largest exhibitor base with 6,621 participating in the six month survey period, attracting 202,688 visitors. Consumer events drew a larger number of visitors, 699,170 with a total of 4,309 exhibitors.

In addition, 49 per cent of trade events had a paid conference or seminar program alongside them, compared with 16 per cent at consumer events.

Ms DiMascio said exhibitors had shown their confidence in exhibitions and events as an effective marketing channel for their brands, products and services, where the “live” nature of events directly connects buyers and sellers. “In just six months more than 11,000 exhibitors from a diverse range of sectors, covering lifestyle to business, home, hospitality and retail, participated in events around the country,” said Ms DiMascio.

In total there were 316 exhibitions held over the survey period, including 92 new events, with a lack of venue space blamed for inhibiting further business growth. Ms DiMascio said that while the industry was enjoying a period of optimism and growth, suppliers, organisers and venues all held concerns about a cooling domestic economy placing budget restraints on exhibitors.

EEAA MARKET MONITOR HIGHLIGHTS

EEAA Members organised 69 events, with 11,278 exhibitors participating and approximately 940,000 individuals attending.
Sold approximately 270,000m² of exhibition space, whilst utilising almost 660,000m² of venue space
EEAA Member venues hosted 316 events.
Employed 2,654 full time staff, 5,390 casual/part time staff and 2,002 contractors.
50% of organisers believe the sectors they are operating in are growing, compared with only 18% who believe that they are declining.
Over half of all organisers surveyed indicated that they are presenting new events in 2012.
Suppliers to the industry were more likely to report an increase in turnover than a decrease, compared with the previous calendar year (59% vs 22%).
Suppliers annual average turnover for 2011 calendar year was $4.8 million, for an approximate total of $382 million.
Exhibition industry accounts for 66% of suppliers’ annual turnover.
Venues hosted 92 new events, representing 29% of shows hosted.
53% of venues cited venue capacity as inhibiting business growth in the past while 73% expect decreasing exhibitor budget to inhibit growth in the future.