Total Exhibition Space Sold at Asian Trade Fairs Increased by 5.6% in 2015

UFI released the 12^th edition of its annual report on the Trade Fair Industry in Asia, tracking the growth of the exhibition industry in the region. Net space sold at Asian trade fairs jumped by 5.6% in 2015 to almost 19.7 million net m².

Research shows that 19.69 million m² of net space was sold by exhibition organisers to their clients in Asia in 2015 – up from 18.64 m² the year before. Of that total, 56% was sold in China – or in terms of net space sold 11.19 million m². That is five and a half times the space sold in Asia’s second largest trade fair market, Japan (2.05 million m²).

India was the fastest growing trade fair market in Asia in 2015 as space sold jumped by 7.8%. Southeast Asia continued post strong growth as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam all grew by – between 7.2% and 7.8% last year – well above the regional average of 5.6%.

Asia’s largest market, China, also posted strong a growth in 2015 of 7.1%. Other large markets recorded more modest growth in 2015. Net space sold in Korea expanded by 3.7% and in Hong Kong by 3.2%. The market in Taiwan grew by 2.2%. Japan, the perennial weak performer in Asia, recorded growth of just 1.2%.

Asia’s venue capacity will exceed 7.8 million m² by the end of 2016 and the number of venues operating in Asia this year will reach 207 – that is more than double the 100 venues that were in operation in 2004 when the first edition of this report was published. In 2016, China will be home to 108 venues and more than 5.5 million m² of gross indoor capacity. That represents more than 70% of total capacity available in the region.

This report provides detailed information on the development of trade fairs and supporting facilities in 15 markets: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The report also includes analysis on actual market performance in 2015 as well as forecasts and commentary on key trends in each market.

The research was once again undertaken for UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, by Business Strategies Group (BSG) in Hong Kong.