Research by IMEX and ICCA confirms strength of association market

When asked about the performance of their main 2009 congresses, fewer than a third of respondents experienced falling delegate numbers, with only one in ten saying this fall was “significant”, whilst a quarter saw their attendance climbing, with over 9% saying this growth was “significant”. Sponsorship and exhibition revenue presented not quite such a rosy picture, with only 14% reporting increases and 46% reporting decreases, of which 14% were “significant”, but another third saw no change to their financial picture. These figures are very much in line with results from research conducted amongst IMEX Association Day participants in June 2009, when the same questions were asked about actual and anticipated 2009 results.

A new question was asked in this survey about expectations for their major events in 2010. Here the optimism was even more clear-cut: Whilst 44% expected no change compared to 2009, 39% anticipated higher attendance, and only 16% were expecting a fall.