With destinations already set for UFI’s global gatherings later this year and in 2026, the association announced it will hold its 94th congress in Guadalajara, Mexico in early November 2027.
The event will be hosted by the Guadalajara Convention and Visitors Bureau at Expo Guadalajara.
The UFI Global Congress was last held in North America in 2023, in Las Vegas, and was last hosted in South America in 2014, when the exhibition sector met in Bogotá, Colombia.
“Each year, the UFI Global Congress brings together the people and perspectives that shape the future of our industry – and Guadalajara promises to be a vibrant and welcoming stage for this essential global conversation in 2027,” said RX CEO and UFI president, Hugh Jones.
“As we continue to champion exhibitions as catalysts for connection, commerce and innovation, I look forward to joining our community in Mexico for what I know will be an energising and impactful congress.”
The selection of Guadalajara as the conference destination was universally approved by UFI’s board of directors at the UFI European Events Week in early June and publicly announced yesterday.
“Guadalajara couldn’t be more proud to be appointed as the host of the UFI Global Congress 2027,” said Guadalajara Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO, Gustavo Staufert Buclon.
“Our commitment to the global meetings industry is strong and unwavering.
“We are members of the BestCities Global Alliance, IAPCO, Destinations International [and] IGLTA, among others.
“We recently hosted AFIDA and IFES, and now it’s our turn to welcome the UFI Global Congress 2027. We are ready!”
Before UFI’s global meeting heads to the Americas, it will be held in Hong Kong this November and Bahrain in the Middle East in 2026.
While North America will have hosted two of the last five UFI conferences once the 2027 event wraps up, Southeast Asia and Oceania, which represents a larger slice of the global population, has been under-represented as a host in the last decade, with just one congress held in the combined regions, when Bangkok hosted in 2019.
