CEO DATELINE - Survey: Tariffs take bite out of trade show attendance, exhibit sales
CEO DATELINE - Survey: Tariffs take bite out of trade show attendance, exhibit sales
- September 17, 2019 |
-
Walt Williams
Consider joining CEO Update. Membership gives full access to the latest intelligence on association management, career advancement, compensation trends and networking events, as well as hundreds of listings for senior-level association jobs.
U.S. trade show executives say the Trump administration's tariffs on goods from China and other countries has led to a decrease in attendance and exhibit sales at their business-to-business trade shows, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.
CEIR received responses from 129 executives to a "short survey" in August about the impact of tariffs on the economy and trade. The sample included an even mix of executives from association-run and independently run trade shows. The group noted that while China is the biggest target for President Donald Trump's tariffs, he has also proposed and implemented trade restrictions on the European Union, Canada, Mexico and other Asian countries.
"Why is this issue of concern to our industry? U.S. trade shows are a gateway to doing business in our country," CEIR CEO Cathy Breden said in a statement.
According to the survey, 56% of executives whose organizations held a U.S.-based trade show from 2018 to July 2019 encountered impacts, with 49% reporting impacts on exhibitor booth sales and 36% reporting impacts on attendance, with most impacts being negative.
Event organizers have sustained, on average, a gross revenue loss of 7.7% as a result, CEIR said. Most respondents (75%) said the tariffs have had a negative impact on the U.S. trade show industry.
"Very careful attention was paid to designing a survey that objectively gauged trade show executive sentiment about the impact of these trade tariffs on the U.S. trade show industry," CEIR Vice President of Research Nancy Drapeau said. "And as well, to determine if impacts have been felt at U.S. trade shows that have taken place during the period that the trade war has been in play—in 2018 through July 2019.
CEIR also noted that in 2018, trade shows contributed $97 billion to U.S. gross domestic product from direct and indirect spending. http://bit.ly/2lVSU4f
MORE CEO DATELINE