UFI releases the latest World Map of Exhibition Venues

The report gives data on 1,425 exhibition venues.

China leads the way in terms of available venue space.
China leads the way in terms of available venue space.

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has released the latest World Map of Exhibition Venues, listing the largest venues for all 21 markets whose total capacity exceeds 300,000 sqm of gross indoor exhibition space. This edition was prepared by jwc GmbH, in close cooperation with UFI.

Kai Hattendorf, UFI CEO and MD, said: “This updated World Map showcases our industry’s most holistic and complete quantitative dataset. It is remarkable to see that global investments into upgrades and expansions of exhibition venue space have continued throughout the pandemic, a true testament to the power and resilience of our industry’s core business model.

“Investments into venue space are a win for everyone: for the industries served by exhibitions, and the destinations in which they take place. Our partnership with jwc for this project will facilitate regular editions of this important report.”

Interesting facts

Regionally, Europe still hosts the biggest share of the world’s total venue capacity with 37.2%. With 36.6%, Asia-Pacific is catching up, with new space capacities being added across the region as the event industry grows with these markets. With 17.9%, North America stands in third place.

On a country/market level, China is now home to 29.3% of the world’s venue capacity. The US holds 14.9% of global venue space capacity, while third-placed Germany is home to 7.5%. Along with Italy and France, these five markets account for 62% of the total world indoor exhibition space.

The top four APAC countries with a minimum of 100,000 sqm of total venue space in APAC are:

· China (288 venues with 80% of space)

· India (14 venues with 3.8% of space)

· Japan (13 venues with 2.9% of space)

· South Korea (13 venues with 2% of space)

Mega venues continue to grow in size. These are venues with more than 100,000 sqm of exhibition space. The World Map now tracks 81 such venues around the world, accounting for 6% of the total market. 40 of these mega venues are available across Europe, and 35 exist in Asia-Pacific.

More than one-third (35%) of all venues belong to the medium-size segment, offering between 20,000 and 100,000 sqm, while 59% of venues globally have an indoor capacity of between 5,000 and 20,000 sqm.

The average size of venues in the Asia-Pacific region exceeds that of any other region, a result of the many infrastructure projects in the region, especially in China.

The following markets are covered by the report: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, and the USA.