UFI: Your online visitors now count as fair visits — whether you track them or not

UFI published the 16th edition of its Euro Fair Statistics on 22 October: 1,758 exhibitions held in 2025 in 13 European countries, 19.4 million m² of net space rented, 503,552 exhibiting companies and 49.9 million registered visits. "This year's data covers around 50% of it," said Chris Skeith OBE, UFI CEO and managing director, of the European market. The operative word is certified: national bodies sign off the figures, not the organisers who sell the stand.

The numbers, and the caveat

Of the 1,758 exhibitions, 209 carry UFI's "Approved Event" designation; 38% targeted trade visitors only, 21% public visitors only, 41% both.

The previous edition covered 2,240 exhibitions in 16 countries and reported 23.1 million m², 594,444 exhibitors and 53.8 million visits. Every total is lower — but this year's set comes from 10 contributing bodies in 13 countries, against 11 in 16 a year earlier, and France is not in it. UFI puts coverage at around half the market in both editions (almost 55% the year before). So this year's drop is mostly a change of sample, not proof that fairs lost a fifth of their activity. Definitions of "exhibitor" and "visitor" still vary by country; UFI argues audits must run "in a uniform manner in order to make the figures comparable".

Where the floor space actually is

Spain has the most certified events — 456, 28 of them hybrid — ahead of Türkiye (455), Italy (263), the Netherlands (201), Germany (130) and Poland (108). Germany keeps the largest floors: haus in Munich rented 420,107 m². Leisure takes 14% of rented space, agriculture 13%, food and hospitality 12%, travel 3%.

The travel shows show where hybrid sits: FITUR in Madrid reported 180,889 visits, 60,321 of them online — more than a third. ITB Berlin drew 5,680 exhibitors and 58,232 visits, close to two-thirds international; IIBTM World in Barcelona listed 12,000 visits, 8,500 international.

Why this matters

Two things change for buyers and sellers of exhibition space. The benchmark is now externally certified, so a show's own attendance claim can sit next to a signed figure. And an online visit now enters the same count as a visit through the turnstile — the digital layer is inside the audience a show is measured on.

This week

1. Fix your definitions. Say whether your number counts registrations, unique visitors or visits, and whether online is included; UFI's release shows national definitions already differ.
2. Benchmark like with like. Filter the certified set by country, sector and hybrid status before quoting a comparable.
3. Give every online visit a record. An agenda, pre-bookable meetings and a per-person entry — or the visit ends at a page view.

If online visits count as visits, they need a name behind them

The certified data no longer treats the digital layer as a side channel. That makes it an operations question: who registered, what they asked for, who follows up on Monday. vcity hosts the hybrid edition of a fair — 3D booth, live sessions, meeting booking — and keeps registrations, meetings and follow-up in one CRM, so the number you report has people behind it.

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Sources:

• https://www.ufi.org/media-releases/ufi-releases-euro-fair-statistics-2025 (primary — UFI's 16th Euro Fair Statistics release, 22 Oct 2026: 13-country panel, 1,758 exhibitions, 19.4m m², 503,552 exhibitors, 49.9m visits, audience split)
• https://www.voyages-d-affaires.com/en/euro-fair-statistics-card-for-european-salons (coverage — country and show detail: Spain's 456 certified events including 28 hybrid, FITUR's online visits, Germany's largest floors, France absent)
• https://www.exhibitoronline.com/news/article.asp?ID=24762 (coverage — totals of the previous edition, 2,240 exhibitions in 16 countries, for the year-on-year comparison)