Due to the military operation in Ukraine, international organizers of exhibitions and conferences leave Russia and Russian are facing the outflow of foreign participants. In the first quarter, 22% of congresses and exhibitions planned for 2022 have already been cancelled. Most of the organizers expect a rise in the number of cancellations and a corresponding decline in financial indicators. Major international events will not return in 2023, and the market as a whole will be formed by state projects, experts believe.

"Ъ" got acquainted with the study of the exhibition research center Market Research Company (VNTC R&C) on the state of the congress and exhibition industry in 2022. It shows that 22% of the congresses and exhibitions planned this year have actually been canceled, and 28% of the international events initiated by foreign customers are under threat.

According to a survey of market participants conducted by R&C, in 2022, most respondents (40%) predict the cancellation or threat of cancellation of 40-100% of events, the same percentage of respondents expect the cancellation of up to a third of conferences and exhibitions. One fifth of the organizers (20%) hopes to hold the events planned in 2022.

In the first quarter, 84% of the organizers noted a negative trend in revenue relative to the first quarter of pre-crisis 2019, the study suggests: 37% had a decrease in revenue by 20-50%, 21% - by 51-80%. According to the results of 2022, 90% of companies in the industry expect a decrease in revenue compared to 2019 and 68% - a reduction compared to 2021. Absolute figures are not disclosed.

The general director of «Euroexpo» LLC, the organizer of international industry congress and exhibition events Olga Moiseeva believes that at the end of the year the market of event industry as a whole will fall by 30-40% compared to 2019 and by about 20-30% relative to 2021: «This is due to the uncertainty in the geopolitical situation and the withdrawal of foreign brands from Russia, their share among the exhibitors exceeded 50%».

In monetary terms, the market of business events at the end of the year will lose at least 30% of the possible profits, according to the managing partner A5000 (organizes registration and accreditation service for events in Russia) Ivan Mishchenko. The current crisis for the market of business events in his opinion, «will be longer and deeper than during the pandemic period».

Western organizers, according to the estimation of "Ъ", occupied about 50% of the market in business events industry. The largest of them, HYVE group and Reed exhibition, which ceased operations in Russia. «Major international events will not return even in 2023, the market will be determined for the most part by governmental projects», - believes Ivan Mishchenko. The change of direction for Russian organizers to the Asian markets, according to him, does not allow to compensate the losses: «Participation of China, India already was quite representative».

Russian operators can catch on the events, which organizers ceased operations in Russia, Olga Moiseeva believes. «Localization» is possible, but it basically means organizing another event, Ivan Mishchenko said. The managing partner of Enterprise Legal Solutions Yuri Fedukin clarifies that the format of events in Russia is not subject to legal protection, but the name of the event can under lawfull protection: «If the replacement event bears a similar to the degree of mixing, the organizers may face problems».

Valeria Lebedeva