March 2007
Medical Show Trends

Special report: 2007 Industry Research Report on Healthcare Meetings and Exhibit Marketing

By Danica Tormohlen

A decade ago, professional attendance at healthcare meetings and exhibitions hit an all-time high, with an average of 1,932 attendees, before declining steadily over the next six years until 2003, when it reached a low with an average of 1,637 attendees, according to the recently released 2007 Industry Research Report on Healthcare Meetings and Exhibit Marketing, conducted by the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA, www.hcea.org). Since 2003, professional attendance has rebounded, increasing 15.4 percent over the last three years.

Obviously, attendance trends have been influenced by the U.S. economic recession, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the rise of the Internet and Internet-based education. In addition, new federal and state healthcare regulations have been implemented across the country in the last decade.
Professional attendance and exhibit space have increased steadily since their 2003 lows, but exhibit space costs have increased at a faster pace. So, it’s more expensive for healthcare exhibitors to reach professional attendees than it was 10 years ago, but not much. In 1997, exhibitors spent 56 cents per attendee, compared with 67 cents per attendees in 2006.

In this report, HCEA analyzed key demographic data from more than 15,000 healthcare meetings and conventions,  from large meetings with more than 10,000 attendees to small meetings with less than 100 attendees, throughout the United States from 1997 to 2006. The data and analysis in this report represent a first for the healthcare convention marketing and medical meetings industries.

Exhibit trends
Over the last decade, the number of exhibits at healthcare meetings and exhibitions reached a high of 160 in 1998, before declining steadily over the next five years when it averaged 134 in 2003. Since then, the number of exhibits has rebounded, increasing 15.7 percent over the last three years to an average of 155 in 2006.

The average cost of exhibit space (measured as a base cost for a 10 x 10 booth) has charted a slightly different course than number of exhibits and professional attendance. Exhibit space costs were relatively stable from 1997 to 2001, reaching their lowest point in 2000 at $1,047, or $10.47 per square foot.

The average cost of exhibit space peaked at $1,308 in 2005, a 24.9 percent increase from 2000. In 2006, the average cost of a
10 x 10 booth decreased 2.6 percent to $1,274, which is 18.2 percent higher than the average cost in 1997.

The good news: When exhibit space costs are adjusted for inflation over the 10-year period, space costs remained below the rate of inflation. While the average cost of exhibit space was actually 6.2 percent less expensive in 2006 in inflation-adjusted dollars, on average, than space cost in 1997, exhibitors were reaching 2.2 percent fewer professional attendees at healthcare meetings and exhibitions. 

  

Small vs. large medical conventions
Comparing 1997–1999 and 2004–2006, professional attendance at very large meetings (10,000 or more attendees) grew 6.6 percent; attendance at large meetings (4,000 or more attendees, including very large meetings) grew 7.7 percent; attendance at medium meetings (2,000–3,999 attendees) grew 5.5 percent; and attendance at small meetings (less than 2,000 attendees) declined 2.1 percent.

Comparing the same periods, average exhibit hall net square footage increased more than the number of exhibits. For large meetings, average net square footage increased 25.5 percent from 1997–1999 compared with 2004–2006, yet there were 2 percent fewer exhibits. For medium meetings, average net square footage increased 27.8 percent from 1997–1999 compared with 2004–2006, while the number of exhibits increased 2.3 percent.
Average booth space cost has increased across all categories over the last 10 years, with medium meetings reporting the largest increase at 33.3 percent. During the same period, very large meetings increased space cost by 21.8 percent, followed by small meetings at 21.4 percent and large meetings at 20.1 percent.



Other medical event trends
In 2006, Las Vegas was the most popular destination for healthcare meetings and conventions, followed by Chicago, Orlando, Washington, DC, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, San Antonio and New York. Over the last decade, Orlando was the most popular destination, followed by Chicago, Washington, DC, San Diego, New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Boston and Philadelphia.

The dental category reported the most meetings by medical specialty in 2006, followed by surgery, nursing, family medicine/primary care, radiology, pharmacy, pediatrics, neurology, dermatology and oncology/cancer.

Comparing three-year averages from 1997–1999 and 2004–2006, oncology/cancer meetings and conventions have grown reported average attendance by 79.6 percent over the last decade. Family medicine/primary care reports 73.6 percent growth, followed by geriatrics at 56.8 percent and emergency medicine at 40.7 percent.     

     

  

To purchase a complete copy of this report, contact HCEA at (404) 252-3663.