PAGE STRAP GLOBAL EXHIBITION RESEARCH
Latest global exhibition industry research released The Brussels-based International Federation of Exhibition & Event Services (IFES) conducted a research study on the state of the global exhibition industry in April this year. The study was a follow-up to the survey conducted in September 2020. Justin Hawes, president of IFES and managing director of Scan Display offered some insights into the latest IFES research, while making some comparisons to the previous research results.
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t’s interesting that the sample in the latest study was 123 – an increase of 43 per cent from the sample in the study last year. This increase in participation may be attributed to people’s interest in the previous research findings, making them eager to participate in the new study. Or possibly people have more time on their hands, as the exhibition industry heads towards 18 months, with almost no work. There was a noteworthy increase in respondents in the USA – from 11 in the first study to 34 in the latest study. Government support The main types of government support 20 Business Events Africa July 2021
provided to the industry last year were loans and tax reductions. Initially governments gave loans and tax relief throughout their economies. They were broad-based and provided widespread relief across industries. However, governments were only able to provide this relief in the short term. The latest research shows that government loans and tax reductions have dropped, and wage subsidies are now the main form of government support. Government support now targets specific industries and companies with wage subsidies. We saw this in South Africa, where the TERS (Temporary Employee Relief Scheme) benefits were www.businesseventsafrica.com
