Attendance, revenues are still down from pre-pandemic levels

Fewer in-person business-to-business events were canceled during the final three months of last year than at any time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, according to the latest quarterly report by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.

The B2B exhibitions industry "improved significantly" in the fourth quarter of 2021, CEIR reported. Cancellation rates for physical in-person events dropped to 12.5% compared to 91.3% in the first quarter of the year. That is a vast improvement over the third and fourth quarters of 2020, when roughly 98% of exhibitions were canceled.

One reason for the recovery was an improved economic outlook as a greater number of people received vaccinations. The strength of the exhibition industry is closely tied to the health of the nation's overall economy.

"Rising vaccination rates and continued robust economic activities bode well for the B2B exhibition industry," CEIR economist Allen Shaw, chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, said in a statement. "The B2B exhibition cancellation rate should decline further."

Still, while more events were being held in late 2021, they weren't as large as they were pre-pandemic. Combined square footage, exhibitor numbers and attendees were 36% to 43% lower than during the fourth quarter of 2019. Real revenues were down 40%.

The numbers do not reflect a wave of event cancellations that took place in early 2022 amid a new COVID surge in the U.S. They also do not reflect the potential effects of historically high inflation and fuel prices.

Still, the report's authors were optimistic. They pointed to survey data showing most event organizers planned to hold their events even with uncertainty about COVID.

"With more vaccine mandates and safety measures implemented at large gatherings, and with a majority of the population vaccinated, the recovery of B2B exhibitions should continue in 2022, unless a new variant causes a severe fifth wave of COVID-19 infections," CEIR CEO Cathy Breden said.