What is the exhibition statistics audit?

The exhibition statistics audit is a procedure when an independent auditor reviews and confirms the following consumer properties (statistical parameters): the number of exhibitors and visitors, the exhibition space, the list and number of participating countries.

What does the exhibition statistics audit provide?

For exhibitors and visitors: the most reliable information about the main characteristics of consumer exhibitions, on its basis potential exhibitors and visitors are able to choose the most profitable event.

For exhibition organizers: an opportunity to manifest the real quality of their exhibitions, to showcase their openness and care for their clients’ interests, to attract an additional number of national and international participants.

Honorary RUEF and UFI logos

The exhibition audit is a voluntary procedure. It is mandatory only for an exhibition whose organizer intends to obtain the honorary logos: the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs and the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry logos. The Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF) is the association of the leading Russian exhibition organizers, exhibition centres’ owners, enterprises contributing to the exhibition business, as well as representatives of the exhibition business in Moldova and Ukraine. It was established in 1991.

The RUEF logo confirms the high level of an event, professionalism of the exhibition organizer, the best marketing opportunities and proves the importance of the exhibition for the Russian economy as a whole. In 2013, 120 Russian exhibitions were granted RUEF logos.

The RUEF logo can be granted only to an international exhibition that meets certain requirements: at least 10% of all exhibitors must be foreign, its space must be at least 1,000 sq.m. (net), and the number of its visitors must be at least 5,000 people. In addition, its quality must be reviewed by a RUEF inspector representing a different exhibition company. Thus, an exhibition with a RUEF logo has passed a double quality control.

The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) is some kind of “elite club” dating back to 1925. Today the association includes 639 members from 227 cities in 84 countries on 6 continents with over 4,500 exhibitions annually.

“UFI Approved Event” is the sign of a quality exhibition, its compliance with the international standards. This status is considered to be the most prestigious in the exhibition industry.

To be approved by UFI, an exhibition has to pass an independent international audit two times in a row, and then to be audited at least once every two years.

To become an “UFI Approved Event,” an exhibition has to meet a list of criteria among which its effectiveness and showcasing the latest achievements and global best practices. The logo is granted to international exhibitions, meeting the requirements of the statistical parameters: the number of direct foreign exhibitors must be at least 10% of the total number of exhibitors, the number of foreign visits or visitors must be at least 5% of the total number of visits or visitors.

More information on requirements for events applying for “UFI Approved Event” status can be found in “UFI’s Auditing Rules for the Statistics of UFI Approved Events.”

Audit History

The institute of exhibition audit has existed in the world for over 40 years, and the practice to control statistical parameters of exhibitions is a universally accepted norm. Any large exhibition in the world is obliged to confirm its statistics, otherwise its credibility for potential exhibitors will be damaged. To make a decision about their participation in a certain exhibition, exhibitors are used to relying on its statistical data: the number of visitors and exhibitor, the exhibition space, the number of foreign participants. All these data are gathered by the international institute of the exhibition audit.

As mentioned above, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) has been controlling the procedure of the exhibition audit in the world for many years. It’s an international organization with its headquarters in Paris.

In Russia, the exhibition audit was introduced in the beginning of 2005. Before that the statistics provided by a large number of Russian organizers were often overstated. As a result, entrepreneurial exhibitors could not always find their target consumers, and a visitor didn’t always come to a truly respectable events. It ended up with the decline of the Russian exhibitions’ effectiveness as a marketing tool and the trend by specialists to opt for other marketing channels.

To resolve the situation, in the end of 2004 the Russian exhibition community represented by the International Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (IUEF) (today the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF)) comprising over 100 exhibition organizers from the CIS countries, made a decision to initiate the exhibition statistics audit in this country.

RussCom IT Systems, a company with a sound reputation and a wide experience in the exhibition statistics field, was empowered to conduct audits. The company was elected by an open vote in the supreme body of the Union, the General Meeting of the RUEF. After the vote, the candidate was approved by UFI. In 2008 the company passed a complex in-depth inspection conducted by UFI Managing Director Vincent Gerard resulted in the highest assessment of quality and reliability.

Today the Russian exhibition audit is still controlled by UFI and the RUEF, its results are recognized by the Society for Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics (FKM) and are published in European and international exhibition guides. The exhibition audit results are covered in all domestic mass media devoted to the exhibition business and on many Web portals.

Now, the vast majority of large Russian exhibition operators pass audits on a regular basis. Amongst them Expocentre, ITE, All-Russian Exhibition Centre (VVC), MVK, Expoforum, RESTEC, Primexpo, Evroexpo, Expodelogo, Farexpo, Lenexpo, Kazanskaya Yarmarka, Nizhegorodskaya Yarmarka, Ural exhibitions, etc.

Take advantage of the exhibition audit statistics, it’s a source of the most reliable data on exhibitions!

Exhibition audit reports