The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) held its annual General Assembly on November 20, marking a year of significant growth and achievement for the organisation.
Representatives from nearly 900 member companies in 90 countries convened to review progress in 2024 and chart the course for the coming year.
UFI president Geoff Dickinson highlighted the association’s record-breaking membership, with close to 900 companies now on board. This expansion reflects the increasing importance of the exhibition industry as a global economic driver.
In 2024, UFI ran a full schedule of in-person events, supported by UFI Connects and other digital formats as complementary, region-specific engagements. Key events included the Global CEO Summit (GCS) in Amsterdam, the Asia-Pacific Conference in Macau, and the Middle East & Africa Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. This year, the Event Director Summit was also added to the Asia-Pacific Conference for the first time.
In Zurich, the European Conference took place. For the first time, the UFI Americas Conference brought together members from North, Central, and South America in Monterrey, Mexico. UFI also co-organised the Asia CEO Summit with AEO, SACEOS, and SISO, marking Singapore’s third and final year as the host city for this event.
Besides the active work supporting UFI co-funded advocacy institutions like EEIA (Brussels) and ECA (Washington DC), UFI organised a members-only delegation visit to India in August 2024 in collaboration with IEIA, reviewing venue developments in Delhi and Mumbai.
UFI and SACEOS (Singapore) organised an Asia Associations & Advocacy Day in Singapore ahead of the Asia CEO Summit. Nine national exhibition/events industry associations across the region attended the session and discussed critical advocacy topics such as sustainability, data, talent and government engagement.
Besides the regular editions of the flagship Global Exhibition Barometer, this year saw the release of the Euro Fair Statistics, identifying the status of the European exhibition market. In partnership with JWC, UFI released a new edition of the World Map of Exhibition Venues, which now covers 21 markets with venue space of more than 300,000m2.
UFI facilitated the production of additional Economic Impact Reports – based on the model developed with Oxford Economics: Greece (1st edition, in February) and the UK (3rd edition, in June). Spain and Thailand already benefited from such reports, and several other countries are about to order their first ones.
The General Assembly also highlighted UFI’s expanding educational offerings.
Fourteen editions of the Exhibition Management School have taken place since the launch in September 2020 (live online and in-person), with an average of around 15 to 20 participants. The EMS continues to take place online three times a year.
The UFI-VMA Venue Management School returned with an edition in Shenyang at the end of May 2024 in Mandarin, and one in Macau in June 2024 in English. The course will be returning to Macau in June 2025.
This year, UFI introduced a new UFI Exhibition Essentials Course, specifically designed to equip aspiring exhibition professionals with key foundational skills. A pilot session of the course was conducted in Riyadh in partnership with Tahaluf Academy and Informa. This course provides a comprehensive grounding in exhibition organisation, preparing participants to excel in the industry.
Beyond education, UFI’s role in industry advocacy was a central theme, where the association is actively engaging with international institutions and governments to champion the sector’s interests. Delegation visits to India and Saudi Arabia showcase this commitment to advocacy.
While 2024 is projected to end with record-breaking industry revenues, UFI acknowledged the potential challenges of 2025. New CEO Chris Skeith, who takes the helm in January from Kai Hattendorf, will focus on supporting UFI’s global membership base to navigate this dynamic environment.
The Assembly also announced key upcoming events: the 2025 UFI Global CEO Summit in Milan (February 5-7), and the 92nd UFI Global Congress in Hong Kong (November 19-22), hosted by AsiaWorld-Expo. For 2026, UFI’s Board of Directors has selected Bahrain as the destination for the 93rd UFI Global Congress, which will be hosted by Exhibition World Bahrain.
The General Assembly also witnessed a changing of the guard within UFI’s leadership. Hugh Jones (CEO, RX Global) assumes the presidency, while Panittha Buri (Bhiraj Buri Group) and Geoff Dickinson (dmg events) take on the roles of incoming and outgoing presidents, respectively.
