Although the exhibition industry isn't the most sophisticated at capturing and analyzing this type of data, it continues to make strides in this area. According to its most recent findings, CEIR estimates the annual growth rate for the exhibition industry to average 6 percent through 2001. The study also analyzes international meeting trends, extracurricular activities, technology, meeting locations, marketing and promotion techniques, return on investment and expected changes over the next two years. According to the 1998 forecast, exhibit space is expected to see a 6.1 percent compounded annual growth rate between 1997 and 2002. Make adjustments based on site selection.
Site selection impacts a forecast, and a forecast impacts site selection.
For some managers, site selection is driven mostly by political considerations, and in those instances, the selection has bearing on what can be expected. Other show managers analyze probable performance of several sites, and selection becomes part of the forecasting process. In either scenario, there are many relevant factors, including general attendee patterns, proximity of the industry base, access to ground and air transportation, costs for participants, convenience of exhibit hall, availability of services and availability of appropriate hotel accommodations. But for some show managers, this isn't always the case. After talking with attendees at School Tech, MFI's Irons learned the educators prefer to follow the event with a vacation.