UK Exhibitions generate £11.5bn in economic output in 2025, reach highest level in a decade

Welcome to the latest edition of Snöcap.

UK exhibitions hit their highest economic output in a decade, generating £11.5 billion and supporting 126,000 jobs in 2025. The tenth SASIE report confirms sustained growth since 2022, with 1,154 exhibitions drawing 6.8 million visits across the country’s main venues.

We also cover Informa’s appointment of David Lynn as inaugural CEO of inD, its Dubai partnership with DWTC, and a first-of-its-kind sustainability benchmarking report from IAVM, TSNN, and Honeycomb Strategies.

Here are the full headlines from this week’s roundup:

UK Exhibitions generate £11.5 billion in economic output in 2025, reach highest level in a decade
Informa names David Lynn CEO of inD, its Dubai partnership with DWTC
UFI re-elects Jörn Holtmeier as Chair of Associations Committee
Exhibitions News kicks off organizer education series with a focus on launching events in the US
IAVM, TSNN and Honeycomb Strategies partner to release first-ever venue benchmark report on sustainability performance
Who is hiring?

Get the full stories below:

UK Exhibitions generate £11.5bn in economic output in 2025, reach highest level in a decade

UK exhibitions generated £11.5bn in economic output and supported 126,000 jobs in 2025, reaching their highest level since 2015, according to the tenth Size and Scale Index for Exhibitions (SASIE) report published by the Events Industry Alliance (EIA).

In 2025, there were an estimated 1,154 exhibitions and conferences with an exhibition element at the UK’s main exhibition venues, drawing an estimated 6.8m visits. Trade exhibitions accounted for the largest share (42%), with consumer exhibitions accounting for just under a third.

Ian Taylor, chief operating officer of the NEC and EIA chair, said, “The findings in the 2025 report are encouraging. The total number of UK exhibitions increased significantly compared with 2024 and reached their highest level since 2015, confirming sustained growth since 2022 despite the combined impacts of Brexit, global uncertainty and ongoing inflationary pressures.”

The broader UK events industry is now worth an estimated £68.7 billion to the national economy. Ian also pointed to DreamHack and ESL One coming to Birmingham in March 2026 as a sign of the UK’s standing as a destination for global events, calling it “a microcosm of the much wider impact the events sector has across some of the UK’s most strategically important industries, including advanced manufacturing, technology and life sciences.”

Rachel Parker, CEO of AEV, said, “As an industry, we must continue to champion the vital role exhibitions play in supporting local economies and innovative industries including those from the Industrial Strategy, creating jobs and enabling the success of the UK’s most dynamic and high-growth sectors.”

📖 Read the SASIE report

Informa names David Lynn CEO of inD, its Dubai partnership with DWTC

Informa has appointed David Lynn as chief executive of inD, its Dubai-based partnership with Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), effective May 4, 2026.

Lynn previously served as president and chief executive of ViacomCBS Networks International, a billion-dollar revenue business spanning 180 markets, where he led the launch of streaming platforms including Paramount+ and PlutoTV across 20 countries.

As inD’s inaugural CEO, David will focus on combining DWTC and Informa B2B event brands into a single operating business, with a growth plan running from 2027 to 2029. inD is Informa’s largest partnership business globally and has stated ambitions to expand across the wider IMEA region.

Stephen A. Carter, group chief executive of Informa, said: “We are delighted to confirm David’s appointment as inD’s inaugural CEO. The appointment of an experienced international media and content executive underlines inD’s ambition and the significant growth opportunity for high quality B2B brands in the IMEA region and beyond.”

Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO of DWTC, said: “The CEO appointment reaffirms Dubai’s attractiveness as a leading global destination for international executive talent. More specifically, it highlights the growth potential that inD as a business represents for the international B2B Events sector. We look forward to working with David to accelerate industry-defining opportunities under inD’s home-grown platform for global connectivity.”

📖 Read the press release

UFI re-elects Jörn Holtmeier as Chair of Associations Committee

UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has re-elected Jörn Holtmeier as chair and Synthia Chan as vice-chair of its Associations Committee. Both will begin their three-year mandates at the 93rd UFI Global Congress in November 2026.

Holtmeier is managing director of AUMA, the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry. In his role as chair, Jörn will also serve on the UFI Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Chan is council chairperson of the Macau Fair & Trade Association. As vice-chair, Synthia will also serve on the UFI Board of Directors.

The UFI Associations Committee comprises over 75 national, regional and international exhibition industry associations worldwide. It works to address industry topics, highlight the sector’s impact through data and research, and amplify the collective voice of the exhibition industry internationally.

UFI President Panittha Buri said: “On behalf of UFI, I congratulate Jörn and Synthia on their re-election, and thank them for their continued dedication. The Associations Committee is a powerful reflection of what UFI is built on: collective strength, shared knowledge, and a genuine commitment to the industry we all serve. With over 75 associations represented, it plays a vital role in ensuring our members’ voices are heard at every level. I look forward to working alongside them as we continue to serve and strengthen our global community.”

Elections for UFI’s governing bodies continue in 2026, with online voting for UFI Regional Chapter positions open from April 6 to May 6, 2026.

📖 Read the press announcement

Exhibitions News kicks off organizer education series with a focus on launching events in the US

Exhibitions News has launched a new editorial series titled “What I wish I had known about…,” with its first installment focusing on the challenges of launching events in the United States.

The series brings together insights from organizers at leading events companies each month, covering a key industry topic through first-hand experience.

Contributors to the first edition include Kate Chambers, former managing director at Clarion Gaming; Natasha Jackson, group operations director at Terrapinn; Heather James, portfolio director at Clarion; and Shannon Kilgariff, event director at Easyfairs.

📖 Read the first article in the series

IAVM, TSNN and Honeycomb Strategies partner to release first-ever venue benchmark report on sustainability performance

The International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Trade Show News Network (TSNN) and Honeycomb Strategies have released the Venue Sustainalytics 2024 Industry Report, the first publicly available, data-driven benchmarking analysis of sustainability performance across event venues.

Based on quantitative data submitted by 53 venues, the report covers energy, water, waste and operations. Key findings include:

809 million kWh of energy were consumed in 2024 by 48 reporting venues, enough to power nearly 78,000 U.S. households for a year
Venues with a Green Team or dedicated sustainability role were far less likely to appear among extreme high-energy users
86% of certified venues track waste data, vs. near-zero tracking among some non-certified venue types
100% of venues with a sustainable procurement policy also reported a waste diversion rate for 2024
Stadiums consume the most water annually, but on a per-attendee basis perform comparably to other venues
19% of respondents (10 venues) are using reclaimed water
Venues with Green Teams are nearly 10 times more likely to publish a public sustainability report

Danica Tormohlen, VP of content for TSNN, said: “This report gives the live events industry something it hasn’t had before: credible, comparable data that shows how sustainability is actually being implemented on the ground. What makes these findings compelling is their relevance to real-world operations — from energy use to waste diversion to transparency. This is the kind of insight venues, organizers, and partners can use immediately to make smarter decisions.”

📖 Read the full report