Posted by

Barry Siskind

UFI’s Community Manager

At UFI’s recent congress in Bogota, I had the opportunity to attend the researcher’s meeting.  We heard from Christian Druart, UFI’s Research Manager, Ana Maria Arango, Executive Director of AFIDA, Mark Cochrane, UFI’s Asia/Pacific Regional Manager and Dr. Enrica Baccini, Chief Research and Development Officer, Fondazione Fiera Milano. Also sitting in on the meeting was Brian Casey, CEIR’s new CEO and President.  These five groups represent a huge body of research covering the overall state of the exhibition industry, exhibitor behaviours and trends.

From a Latin American perspective we learned that 54% of the exhibition activities take place in two countries: Brazil and Mexico. We also learned that Latin America should not be considered as one whole marketplace but a collection of local markets each with its own challenges and opportunities. Ana Maria introduced AFIDA’s publication titled Latin American Markets and Exhibitions 2015-2016. This booklet is a must read for anyone considering doing business in this region. To get your copy visit www.AFIDA.org.

I’m a believer in the need for research. Every industry needs it in order for all the stakeholder’s to make intelligent decisions.

I think this would be an excellent time to open a discussion about the use of research. I would like to hear your views on the following questions:

What do you look for in industry data?

How do you use it?

What more would you like to see?