It’s fair to say that most industries were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but if there was one industry that came to a grinding halt, it’s trade shows and conferences. Britt Klontz, working with Promoleaf, gathered the data on this recovering industry.
The damage done to the industry was estimated to be in the billions of dollars, and according to the EventsXPO figures, some 881 trade shows were canceled or postponed in 2020-2021.
After experimenting with virtual and hybrid formats, in-person trade shows came back. That makes sense, as even at the peak of the pandemic 70% of Americans preferred in-person events, as our own study found at the time.
The comeback, encouraging as it has been, hasn’t been as rapid as many had hoped. Echoing the figures from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, our analysis suggests that while organizers are putting on as many events as they did in 2019, the attendances haven’t yet returned to the pre-pandemic levels. Or have they?
In this study, we examine the state of trade shows in 2023 through the lens of attendance, using figures from the EventsXPO database, CEIR, Trade Shows News Network, and official trade show websites. We profile industries and locations to determine where attendance has rebounded fastest and where they still have some way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels.
Read on to see what the trade show comeback actually looks like in 2023.
In the first nine months of 2023—Jan. 1 through Sept. 30—an estimated 12.7 million people attended the shows and conferences that have been held in the United States so far in 2023, based on the figures from the EventsXPO database.
That’s 15% more attendees that visited a trade show compared to the same period last year, but still 20% fewer than in the same period in 2019—the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Looking at the chart of trade show attendance in the last four years, there is good reason to be optimistic. Attendance numbers are going up, but at this stage, they are still considerably lower than in pre-pandemic times.
Some of America’s biggest shows are perfect examples of this recent trend. Consumer Electronics Show had 182,000 visitors in 2019, while the National Association of Music Merchants Show drew a crowd of 115,301 that same year.
In 2023, however, CES had 115,000 attendees, 37% off the pre-pandemic peak, while the NAMM show was only attended by 46,711 this year, down a significant 59% on its own 2019 record.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Of the top 25 biggest shows in the United States, according to TSNN, all 17 that already took place this year have seen an increase in attendance compared to 2022, with the average year-over-year increase at 28%.
Some shows appear to have recovered fully. National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show drew 60,000 attendees this year—41% more than in 2019, while the National Association of Home Builders International Builders’ Show saw a crowd of 70,000 in 2023, up 17% on its pre-pandemic figure.
To read the full report visit https://promoleaf.com/blog/trade-shows-post-pandemic.
