News

Insights on visitors to top 30 audited trade shows

AMAA

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has launched its 2016 Trade and Consumer Exhibition and Events Calendar ahead of the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) to be held in Melbourne on 23-24 February 2016.

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio, said the calendar showcases exhibitions and events across all key industry pillars important to the Australian economy including education, investment, tourism, food and agribusiness, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, retail, resources and energy, health and services.

“Each year, the exhibition and event sector brings together Australian and international industry professionals, as well as exhibitors, buyers and visitors, providing them with a marketplace to do business and share knowledge.” she said.

“The EEAA 2016 Calendar of trade and consumer exhibitions and events is a comprehensive list of events organised or hosted by EEAA Members.

“This resource is one of the most popular tools used by Members, Stakeholders and the industry, and assists businesses and agencies in planning and business development.

The printed EEAA Calendar complements the Association’s online resource which is continually updated by EEAA Members. Key events include: Reed Gift Fairs, Home & Giving Fair, Sydney International Boat Show, Australian Triathlon, Endurance & Cycling Expo, Australian Energy Storage 2016, PAX Australia, Integrate, Australasian Gaming Expo, Motorclassica, Mind Body Spirit Festivals, Pregnancy, Babies & Childrens Expo, Oz Comic-Con, the Dog Lovers Shows, Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo, Cake Bake and Sweets Show, Fine Food Australia, and the Good Food and Wine Shows.

View the calendar here.

EEAA has also continued its work with the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA) and today released new insights from the top 30 audited trade shows for the 2014-2015 financial year.

Ms DiMascio said audited data gives valuable information on visitor attendance, behaviour and origin market.

“This latest report shows that trade exhibitions attract a high level of visitors from interstate or overseas as well as a strong percentage of repeat visitation to the host venue and city. It highlights the double benefit that exhibitions have for the local economy.”

Key findings from the report:

In 2015 of the 9 Sydney exhibitions included in the top 30, 7 were trade shows and reported an average repeat visit percentage of 21% of Unique Visitors.
In 2015 of the 12 Melbourne exhibitions included in the top 30, 9 were trade shows and reported an average repeat visit percentage of 37%.
In the 2015 financial year, the top 30 audited exhibitions in Australia and New Zealand generated 315,180 unique visitors, an average of 10,506 per exhibition
In 2015 Sydney generated 72,343 unique visitors with 26.4% of visitors from interstate or overseas
In 2015 Melbourne generated 159,533 unique visitors with 26.4% of visitors from interstate or overseas
In the 2013-2015 financial period, Melbourne exhibitions attracted a higher percentage of interstate & overseas visitors than Sydney exhibitions (Sydney 21.9% vs Melbourne 23.6%)
In 2015, 6 of the 9 Sydney exhibitions were held at Sydney Olympic Park, representing
15.4% of total audited attendance, up from 14.9% in 2014.
In 2015, 10 of the 12 Melbourne exhibitions were held at MCEC, representing 38.7% of total audited attendance, up from 37.3% in 2014
The average duration of Melbourne and Sydney events in 2014-2015 was 3.6 days

The Association will continue to work with AMAA and other independent organisations to ensure the value of exhibitions is recorded, and the contribution of the sector to economic development, trade and export, employment, visitation and knowledge sharing is recognised.

This article orginally appeared on the EEAA website, February 2016. View the article here.