Convention and Trade Show Management NAICS 561920

May 6, 2025 - Convention Attendance Down in First Half of the Year

• The US convention industry has seen a precipitous decline in attendance in early 2025, particularly from Canada, Europe, and Central Asia, according to research from the American Society of Association Executives. The decline in attendance is attributed to tough economic conditions, higher costs, and an unwelcome political environment in the US for foreign attendees. Canadian attendance declined the most with a 41.5% drop. Professional associations experienced a 56% decline, while trade associations fell 35.5%. Participation by exhibitors and sponsors has remained steady despite these challenges, with 66% reporting no attendance changes. Industry experts note that those contracts were signed before Trump policies were put into place and future events will likely have a bigger drop if the economy fails to improve. Associations are trying to compensate with more virtual/hybrid events, shrinking show schedules, and renegotiating venue contracts.
• The convention and trade show industry continues its slow but steady rebound from the pandemic with projected revenue growth of 17% to $15.8 billion, according to exhibition design firm Classic Exhibits. The industry expects to organize 13,000 trade shows across North America in 2025. A survey by Giant Printing revealed that 64% of companies plan to increase their trade show presence in 2025. On average, a typical exhibitor will attend 42 regional shows, 12 national shows, and five international events. In-person events rather than virtual are preferred by 95% of exhibitors, who have increasingly launched hybrid event models that support in-person events rather than replace them. Lead generation is the primary goal of most exhibitors (36%) followed closely by brand exposure (29%). Giant Printing also found that 81% of conference attendees hold buying power, making networking more critical than ever.

• A recent survey of event and exhibit marketers suggests that rising costs contribute to reduced event budgets. The report by The Exhibitor Advocate and EVOLIO Marketing showed that 88% of exhibit marketers surveyed said budget management was their top challenge. About 82% of respondents said show services costs were the leading driver of budget management challenges. More than half (57%) of those surveyed said they expect exhibit budgets to remain flat in 2025, and 18% predict budget cuts. To offset higher costs, exhibitors are reducing booth sizes and sponsorship spending and participating in fewer shows.
• Business-event planning professionals expect meetings budgets to increase in 2025, according to a recent forecast by Amex GBT Meetings & Events. About 70% of meetings professionals in North America expect spending on meetings to rise in 2025 – 63% think spending will increase, while 7% anticipate a significant increase in spending. The biggest challenges business-event professionals expect to face in 2025 include location availability (43% of respondents), cost (40%), and budget cuts (36%). More than two-thirds of respondents based in North America expect in-person events to be the dominant meeting format in 2025, although some may respond to inflationary or budgeting pressures by having more virtual meetings or changing the destination or lodging arrangements. Artificial intelligence (AI) and mobile apps are the top technology tools meetings pros plan to leverage in 2025, led by AI-powered matchmaking for attendees and sponsors (42% of respondents), content creation (41%), and generating creative themes (40%).