A year of confident progress for UFI

Representatives from UFI member companies from around the world met in Las Vegas last week to review UFI’s activities throughout 2023 and to confirm plans for the year ahead.

The 2023 UFI General Assembly took place before the UFI Global Congress, which welcomed some 500 industry leaders from more than 50 countries and regions.

Chaired by UFI’s current president, Michael Duck, the General Assembly reviewed and previewed the association’s initiatives to support UFI’s members around the world. Membership has grown to reach a new all-time high of more than 820 member companies from 86 countries and regions.

Michael Duck said: “Trade fairs have proven to be powerful catalysts for economic growth. By bringing together businesses, investors, and consumers, they serve around the world as a marketplace for new ideas, products, and services. The successful trade fairs of this year have facilitated numerous business transactions, generating revenue, stimulating job creation, and fostering economic development. They have been instrumental in revitalising industries that were severely impacted by the pandemic.

To reflect the growing number of member companies based in North America and doing business there, UFI will establish a dedicated North America chapter in the association. Duck said: “Around 7% of UFI’s global membership are headquartered in this region, and more than a quarter are active here. UFI’s leadership has decided to set up a North America Chapter that will comprise Canada, the US, and Mexico, as a legacy of this year’s Global Congress taking place in the US.”

Duck explained the purpose and role of these chapters in the organisation: “UFI never runs national offices, or chapters. UFI does not compete with national exhibition industry associations, it collaborates with them and supports them. UFI has been a trailblazer for collaboration among industry associations around the world, with a track record of more than 20 years on this.”

Summarising UFI's work for 2023, Kai Hattendorf, CEO and MD of UFI said: “The past 12 months have certainly been busy. We ran more events around the world than ever before, and also have seen UFI returning to in person events in Asia.

“We have been able to extent UFI’s educational offers with new on-site editions of our core programmes across multiple regions. UFI research has confirmed our industry has recovered globally from the pandemic slump. And we have seen some real breakthroughs in our advocacy work, being recognised by entities like the UN, the OECD, ISO, and others.”