UFI International Exhibition Industry Association released the latest loss assessment of COVID-19 on global exhibitions and trade shows, which covers the whole year of 2020.

Data shows that compared to 2019, global industry revenue decreased by 68% in 2020. This result is based on regional data provided in the "UFI Global Exhibition Industry Barometer" released last week, which shows that revenue in 2020 only accounted for 23% of revenue in Central and South America in 2019, with the Middle East and Africa region rising to 24%, Asia Pacific region 27%, Europe 32%, and North America 36%.

Exhibitions have a direct impact on many industries in the hosting area - not only the exhibition industry (exhibition halls, organizers, and exhibition service providers), but also all related industries such as accommodation, catering, and transportation. Considering all these exhibition related industries, it is estimated that at least 200 billion euros (224 billion US dollars) of the total exhibition related output in 2020 was not generated, including 80 billion euros (90 billion US dollars) in North America, 65 billion euros (73 billion US dollars) in Europe, and 46 billion euros (52 billion US dollars) in the Asia Pacific region. This is equivalent to 2.4 million full-time jobs globally being affected.