The trade show market - France

The French exhibition market is estimated at €5 billion. In France, around 1,200 trade shows are organized every year, with 230,000 exhibitors and over 23 million visitors.

Since 2020, the trade show industry has faced significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies in the sector suffering an 80% loss in sales due to event cancellations and postponements.

The market was highly concentrated, with a handful of players organizing almost half of all events. The European Union, with sales of 39.5 billion euros, is the second region after North America in terms of revenue.

Trends in the French exhibition market

Every year, the sector hosts over 350 different events, welcoming more than 230,000 exhibitors and attracting over 23 million visitors. This business is run by experienced event organizers. In France, a dozen key players organize almost half of the country's trade events.

Companies taking part in these trade events use the opportunity to launch new services, penetrate new markets or forge new business relationships. These fairs incorporate technological solutions to enhance the attendee experience.

Small and medium-sized companies account for over three-quarters of exhibitors, and often depend on these events for a substantial proportion of their annual sales.

Exhibitor loyalty is high, with 76% having participated in previous events.

Exhibition market players

• Comexposium is a veteran event organizer, renowned for its portfolio of BtoB trade shows.
  
  
• Reed Exhibitions is another trade show heavyweight, with a global presence.
  
  
• GL Events, organizes not only trade shows, but also a range of event services.
  
  
• Europexpo, a smaller player .
  
  
• Weyou Group
  
  
• IStand Op and Himalaya Expo, manufacture stands

Inforamtion

• Number of pages : ~ 40 pages
• Format : Digital and PDF versions
• Last update : 25/01/2022

Summary and extracts

List of charts presented in this market study

• Geographical distribution of the turnover and number of exhibitors in the exhibition sector
• Geographical distribution of the turnover of the exhibition sector
• Share of turnover achieved by companies compared to 2019
• Turnover development of the trade fair sector
• Main countries of origin of foreign exhibitors and visitors
• Number of annual trade fairs and exhibitions attended by exhibitors
• Size of companies participating in trade fairs and exhibitions
• Percentage of companies generating more than half of their annual turnover from trade fairs, according to the share of their marketing budget
• Share of the exhibition budget in exhibitors' marketing budgets
• Ranking of the most important reasons for exhibitors at a trade fair
• Main sectors renting space at trade fairs
• How has the cancellation of events (trade shows and fairs) affected your business?
• When do you expect trade fairs and exhibitions to return to their pre-covid level?
• Main reasons for exhibitors' dissatisfaction
• Percentage of exhibitors who feel that the solutions mentioned have improved their exhibition experience
• Share of expectations in terms of event responsibilities
• Breakdown of trade fair revenues by type of event
• Breakdown of the number of trade shows organized, by company
• Breakdown of exhibition park sales
• Breakdown of trade show participation costs
• Turnover index of the congress and trade show organisation market in value
• Turnover flow of exhibitors participating in trade fairs
• Sales index for shopfitting in value terms
• Market share of total turnover of stand production agencies
• Ranking of the largest exhibition spaces
• How do you think virtual events compare to physical events when you have to evaluate