Ecobuild attendance plummets 22%

25 March 2013


Visitor numbers at this year’s Ecobuild were down about 22% to 45,000, according to newly-released figures.

Show organiser UBM said about 45,000 people attended the three-day event at London’s ExCeL on March 5-7, compared to 57,000 last year.

Exhibitor numbers totalled more than 1,000, against more than 1,500 in 2012 – a drop of about 33%.

While Ecobuild may still be the world’s largest sustainable building show with lots of great products on display, the large drop in visitor numbers and exhibitors is clearly an eyebrow-raiser.

The figures were not a big surprise – there were large gaps around the edges of the exhibition halls and a lack of visitor bustle when compared to previous years. One contact told TTJ that Ecobuild’s exhibitor revenue was probably down by several million pounds.

But in its post-show statement, UBM has not sought to explain the contraction.

It did report a significant increase in senior level decision makers and launched its first Hosted Buyer Programme inviting UK and international VIP buyers to build key relationships with exhibitors.

Ecobuild brand director Tom Broughton also said UBM had responded to the industry’s desire to have the information/conference programme back on the show floor.

UBM reported that exhibitors were delighted with the calibre of visitors, with rebooking rates for 2014 already at over 50%.

The company is now rolling out the Ecobuild concept to China, India and Malaysia with shows in Shanghai on April 1-3, India on April 16-17 and Kuala Lumpur on September 17-19.