Trade fair industry today is at the intersection of several strong trends: cost pressure, digitalization, generational changes and growing expectations of exhibitors regarding return on investment. Although the pandemic accelerated experiments with online formulas, the market quickly verified their limitations. About the real challenges of the sector and its condition companies executives, the role of new technologies and the future of exhibition events, we talk to the president of BWS Expo Plus and vice-president of the Council of the Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry Krzysztof Szofer.
The biggest challenges for the exhibition market in Poland and Europe
IL: The exhibition industry has undergone enormous changes in recent years – pandemic, digitalization, new expectations of exhibitors. In your opinion, what are the three biggest challenges for the exhibition market in Poland and Europe today?
KSz: : Trade fair industry Poland today faces primarily economic challenges. The key problem is the low euro exchange rate, which directly affects profitability companies exhibitions. Over 85% of the services provided by Polish companies in the stand design and construction sector are provided to foreign entities. At the current EUR exchange rate, margins in this segment are getting lower, which gradually weakens the competitiveness of companies exporting their services.
The second important factor is dynamically rising labor costs. Since the pandemic, the minimum wage has increased from approximately PLN 2,800 to over PLN 4,800 gross. This is accompanied by an increase in other operating costs of enterprises – energy, logistics, external services and the implementation of new administrative obligations, such as KSeF. For micro, small and medium-sized companies, this means increasing cost pressure with decreasing revenues.
The third, increasingly serious challenge is the problem of… availability of qualified executive staff. The assembly of exhibition stands is still a job based on craft skills that cannot be automated. The current workforce is aging, and the industry is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit young workers for this physically and logistically demanding work.
Do traditional fairs have a future in the era of digitalization?
IL: More and more companies are opting for online or hybrid events. Do traditional trade fairs still have a strong future, or are we facing a permanent change in the industry’s operating model?
KSz: In practice, it is difficult to talk about the real development of online or hybrid events in Poland and Europe. The market verified this model very quickly. Direct events, based on physical meetings of exhibitors and visitors, remain the core of the exhibition industry.
Today, digitalization plays a supporting role – it increases the reach of events, improves the comfort of participants and provides data that helps in making decisions about participation in subsequent editions of the fair. Social media coverage, video materials and attendance analytics often become a key argument for companies considering participating in an event in the future. However, they do not replace face-to-face meetings, but complement them.
Rising energy, logistics and labor costs: business under increasing pressure
IL: Energy, logistics and labor costs are rising. How will these factors affect the profitability of organizing fairs and constructing stands in the coming years?
KSz: Growing energy, transport and labor costs they directly translate into the profitability of both the organization of fairs and the construction of exhibition stands. This phenomenon is an integral part of a broader economic problem facing the entire industry today. Given the current financial realities, it is increasingly difficult to maintain the current level of service quality without increasing prices, which in turn affects exhibitors’ decisions regarding participation in events.
Pressure on ROI. Trade fairs as a tool for relationships, not signing contracts
IL: Exhibitors increasingly expect measurable effects of participation in fairs. How should the industry respond to the pressure on ROI and the real business value of events?
KSz: Expecting measurable results from participation in fairs largely transfers responsibility to event organizers. Leading fair centers are increasingly focusing on the quality of the target group of visitors – it is the number and real business value of participants that determine exhibitor satisfaction today.
Fair have long ceased to be a place for directly signing commercial contracts. Their primary function is today building relationships,initiating contacts and creation space for further business talks. Spectacular signing of contracts has an image and media character, but is not a real measure of the legitimacy of participation in the event.
Sustainable development and ecology in the practice of the exhibition industry
IL: Sustainable development and ecology are no longer fashionable, but are becoming a standard. What changes in the design and production of exhibition stands will be necessary to meet these expectations?
KSz: : Companies exhibitions in Poland are already implementing pro-ecological solutions, primarily for economic reasons, not for image reasons. Fully recycled or reusable materials are used. The disposal of entire stands has practically ceased to exist because it generates very high costs.
Wooden elements, both from individual and system structures, go back to the producers of boards and wood-based materials, where they are processed into new components. The industry strives to minimize waste and maximize the recovery of raw materials.
At the same time, excessive and thoughtless search for the carbon footprint in all aspects of trade fair activities may lead to absurdities and, consequently, to the weakening of the entire sector. The industry advocates conscious ecology, based on common sense, and not solutions detached from economic and logistic realities.
Changing visitor profile and new generational expectations
IL: How is the profile of fair visitors and customers changing? Do you see a new generation of recipients forcing a different way of designing the trade fair experience?
KSz: Generational change is inevitable and is already influencing the way we design trade fair events. Younger generations still see value in face-to-face meetings, but expect a richer event format. Combining trade fairs with conferences, discussion panels, training and other forms of activity is playing an increasingly important role.
Examples of events such as Impact or Pyrkon show that it is the substantive program and accompanying activities that attract mass audiences. This is a trend that will only strengthen with generational change.
The role of new technologies in the exhibition industry
IL: What role will new technologies (AI, automation, data analytics, augmented reality) play in the organization of trade fairs and exhibitor service in the coming years?
KSz: New technologies cannot be ignored. Today, artificial intelligence is already used in data analysis, conceptual design of stands, generating visualizations and customer service support. Automation and data analytics are becoming tools for building competitive advantage.
Companies that do not follow and implement these solutions may fail in a short time go out of business. This applies not only exhibition industrybut all of it economy.
What’s next for the market? One thing remains unchanged: the need for live meetings
IL: Strategically speaking: where would you like to see the exhibition industry in Poland in 5-7 years and what conditions must be met for this scenario to come true?
KSz: Market forecasting in the next 5-7 years is extremely difficult today due to the dynamics of technological and economic changes. The key unknown remains the scale and form of new technologies that can radically change the way events are organized.
However, one thing remains unchanged – the need for direct interpersonal contact. If this need continues, fairs will remain an important element of economic life. Technology may change the form, tools and setting of events, but the foundation of the industry will still be people and relationships.
