This follows an average global revenue growth of 20 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, although this varies by country.
Australia’s revenue growth in 2023 was just one per cent, but 14 per cent growth is expected this year. At the other end of the scale Malaysia’s revenue was up by 43 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, while Columbia is expected to have the highest revenue growth in 2024, up 48 per cent. France has the lowest revenue expectations for 2024, expecting a two per cent slump on 2023.
The survey from UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, had responses from 453 companies across 68 countries and regions. The Australian Business Events Association drove the charge for Australian exhibition companies.
Globally, operations increased across half of the industry in the first half of 2024, with just over half – 54 per cent – expecting increased operational activity in the back end of the year.
Forty-six per cent of respondents are expecting increased activity in Q1 and Q2 in 2025, while 12 per cent are unsure of what 2025 will hold at this point.
Around the world, most of the industry enjoyed an increase in operating profits in 2023 – 61 per cent across the board – but only 47 per cent of the industry are expecting increased profits for this year, with 39 per cent expecting stable profits in 2024 compared to 2023.
Companies are split in terms of workforce growth, with 48 per cent of businesses looking to grow their staff numbers in the next six months and another 48 per cent expecting to maintain their current staff levels. Just four per cent globally are expecting to reduce staff.
Economic concerns continue to be the most significant business issues, with 22 per cent of those surveyed saying the economic state of their domestic market was the most pressing, while global economic developments were the second most pressing, with 15 per cent of respondents naming this as their top business issue.
This iteration of UFI’s survey also checked the temperature on generative artificial intelligence – with ChatGPT being arguably the most famous application – and found that 90 per cent of responding businesses believe generative AI will impact the industry.
Over 80 per cent of those surveyed expect it to impact sales, marketing and customer relations alongside research and development, while 69 per cent expect it to influence event production.
Region and country specific results indicate Australia is expecting lower revenue growth than Asia Pacific as a whole and fewer companies in Australia are expecting operational profit growth compared to the average for APAC.
Thirty per cent of Australian companies are expecting to increase staff, also lower than the APAC average.
More Australian respondents than the global average expect generative AI to impact sales, marketing and customer relations, research and development and event production, but conversely, we are also using AI significantly less than our global counterparts.
Australian companies are, on average, also less focussed on growing their companies than the worldwide average, with 60 per cent of Australian companies looking to keep doing what they’re doing, while globally, most businesses are looking to develop new activities within or outside of their scope, or both.
