Stefanie Selesznik Global Industry Review

For the past ten consecutive years, Jochen Witt has presented the Global Industry Review at each annual UFI Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The annual “State of the Global Industry” presentation is seen by many as the “cannot miss” session of the event.

Stephanie Selesnick: Would you share a bit about your upcoming session at the UFI Global Congress in Johannesburg?

Jochen Witt: This year, my presentation will be composed of three parts:

  1. Global politics and the economies of the most important largest trade fair countries
  2. A review of the last 10 years:
    1. How accurate were our (jwc) predictions over the years? What happened?
    2. How have the major exhibition players in the world fared over the last 10 years?
  3. The main results of our annual Global Exhibition Industry Survey (GEIS) 2017

Stephanie Selesnick: 10 years – you’ve become almost a tradition with your talk. However, you said that 2017 would be the last time you will be presenting the Global Industry Review. Why is this the final one?

Jochen Witt: 10 years are a very long time, and I have enjoyed the privilege of sharing my findings and views year after year. I will miss this, but as well feel that it is time for different perspectives. I approached UFI with the idea, and then we made the decision to leave on a high note this year.

Stephanie Selesnick: Considering how positively your presentation has been received at each Congress, was it a difficult decision for you to stop?

Jochen Witt: Yes and no…. On the one hand it is always difficult to discontinue things you like to do, and I really enjoy giving this talk. On the other hand it gives me more time to focus on our business at jwc. Preparing the presentation requires a tremendous amount of time, resources and thoughts of the entire organization at jwc; this is something easily overseen when you listen to the presentation.

Stephanie Selesnick: How has the response rate to the 2017 GEIS been thus far?

Jochen Witt: We’re happy with the rate, which is about the same as last year’s. Since this year’s survey is longer, it’s a very positive sign that people want to share their views. The pattern seems to follow last year, with most Europeans answering the survey, followed by a good response from Asia and North America, with Latin American and Africa answering less.

Make sure to catch Jochen Witt’s last Global State of the Industry on Friday, November 3 from 12:00-13:15 (1:15pm) at the UFI Global Congress in Johannesburg, South Africa.