Exhibition Industry

Directory Exhibition Industry Associations

Texworld Paris 2016 - Exhibition Industry
Texworld Paris

The exhibition industry, also known as the trade show or expo industry, encompasses events where businesses, organizations, and individuals showcase their products, services, innovations, and ideas to a targeted audience. These events provide a platform for companies to connect with potential customers, partners, and other stakeholders. The primary goal is to promote products and services, generate leads, build brand awareness, and facilitate networking within a specific industry or niche.

Key components of the exhibition industry include:

  • Trade Shows – These events are typically industry-specific and bring together businesses and professionals to showcase and explore the latest products, services, and technologies. Trade shows often include exhibitions, seminars, workshops, and networking opportunities.
  • Exhibitions – Exhibitions are displays of products, services, or information organized for a specific audience. Companies set up booths or stands to present their offerings and engage with attendees. Exhibitions can be part of larger trade shows or standalone events.
  • Conventions and Conferences – While conferences focus more on educational and informational sessions, conventions often include exhibition components where companies can showcase their products and services. These events are attended by professionals and experts in a particular field.
  • Consumer Shows – Unlike trade shows that target industry professionals, consumer shows are open to the general public. These events allow businesses to directly interact with consumers, demonstrate products, and gather feedback.
  • Virtual and Hybrid Events – With advancements in technology, virtual and hybrid events have become more prevalent, especially in response to challenges posed by factors like the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual events take place entirely online, while hybrid events combine in-person and virtual components, allowing participants to engage both physically and digitally.

The exhibition industry plays a crucial role in various sectors, including technology, healthcare, automotive, fashion, and more. It provides a platform for businesses to launch new products, connect with potential customers, and stay informed about industry trends. Additionally, these events contribute to economic growth by fostering collaboration, innovation, and business development.

Directory Exhibition Industry Associations

UFI – The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry

UFI is the union of the world’s leading tradeshow organizers and fairground owners, as well as the major associations of the exhibition industry, and its partners. UFI’s main goal is to represent its members and the exhibition industry worldwide, by promoting the unique characteristics of trade fairs.
ufinet.org

In alphabetical order

Association of Event Organisers (AEO)
The Association of Event Organisers Ltd (AEO) is the trade body representing companies that conceive, create, develop, manage, market, sponsor, supply or service trade exhibitions and consumer events. It is run by its members for the benefit of its members through an elected council of representatives, specialist working groups and a fulltime secretariat.
aeo.org

Association of Event Venues (AEV)
The AEV exists to represent the interests of venues within the wider events industry and works closely with the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) and the Association of Exhibition Contractors (AEC) to increase the profile and significance of events within the marketing mix.
aev.org

Association of the German Trade Fair Industry (AUMA)
Founded in 1907, AUMA, the German trade fair industry’s umbrella organisation, combines all the forces representing partners shaping the trade fair market, in other words, exhibitors, visitors, trade fair organisers and service companies.
auma.de

Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR)
The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) is a non-profit organization with the mission of advancing the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering research-based knowledge tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position.
ceir.org

CENTREX International Exhibition Statistics Union
CENTREX is the top exhibition industry organisation in Central Eastern Europe not only for promoting transparency, reliability and real market-value of exhibition statistics (her initial concept), but growingly also in promoting exhibitions as excellent face-to-face marketing tool in general aspect.
Founding members were leading trade fair organisers of the region: Brno, Poznan, Budapest, Bratislava.
Since the launch other important fair organisers decided to join CENTREX: now the membership includes Czech Vystavisté Ceské Budejovice, Hungarian V-Trade Exhibitions Debrecen, Polish Kielce Trade Fairs and Gdansk International Fair, Ukrainian Euroindex Ltd. Kyiv, Kyiv International Contract Fair, Gal-EXPO from L’viv, Romanian Expo Arad International, Romexpo s.a., DLG-Intermarketing Ltd. and the Bulgarian International Fair Plovdiv.
centrexstat.org

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a non-profit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability. GRI provides all companies and organizations with a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework that is widely used around the world. GRI provides sector guidance for event organizers, enabling them to measure and report their sustainability performance.
globalreporting.org

International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC)
AIPC is the industry association for professional convention and exhibition centre managers world wide. AIPC is committed to encouraging and recognizing excellence in convention centre management, while at the same time providing the tools to achieve such high standards through its research, educational and networking programs.
AIPC occupies a unique position amongst the various organizations that represent the meetings industry. It is a true international organization, with representation from over 53 countries around the world. It focuses specifically on the issues, opportunities and challenges facing convention and exhibition centres. It celebrates and promotes the multicultural dimension of the international meetings industry and the role facilities play in enhancing this. And it maintains close working relations with related industry organizations to ensure members are well connected to overall industry issues.
aipc.org

International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE)
Organized in 1928 as the National Association of Exposition Managers to represent the interests of trade show and exposition managers, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events® is the leading association for the global exhibition industry. Today IAEE represents over 12,000 individuals in over 50 countries who conduct and support exhibitions around the world.
iaee.com

International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO)
IAPCO, a non-profit organisation founded in 1968, represents professional organisers and managers of international and national congresses, conventions and special events.
IAPCO is committed to raising standards of service among its members and other sectors of the meetings industry by means of continuing education and interaction with other professionals. IAPCO has members worldwide whose activities are monitored on an annual basis. As a result, IAPCO membership offers a unique quality assurance recognised by conference clients and suppliers all over the world.
iapco.org

International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA)
ICCA was founded in 1963 by a group of travel agents. Their first and foremost aim was to evaluate practical ways to get the travel industry involved in the rapidly expanding market of international meetings and to exchange actual information related to their operations in this market. This initiative soon proved to have been taken at the right moment: the meeting industry expanded even more rapidly than foreseen. As a result of which candidates from all over the world applied for ICCA membership. Not only congress travel agents but representatives from all the various sectors of the meetings industry.
ICCA now is one of the most prominent organisations in the world of international meetings. It is the only association that comprises a membership representing the main specialists in handling, transporting and accommodating international events. With members in more than 80 countries around the world, it is certainly the most global organisation within the meetings industry. ICCA has offices in the Netherlands, Malaysia, U.S.A. and Uruguay.
iccaworld.com

Sustainable event management (also known as event greening) is the process used to produce an event with particular concern for environmental, economic and social issues. Sustainability in event management incorporates socially and environmentally responsible decision making into the planning, organisation and implementation of, and participation in, an event. It involves including sustainable development principles and practices in all levels of event organisation, and aims to ensure that an event is hosted responsibly. It represents the total package of interventions at an event, and needs to be done in an integrated manner. Event greening should start at the inception of the project, and should involve all the key role players, such as clients, organisers, venues, sub-contractors and suppliers.