Introducing an exclusive new EXPO survey, the first annual Top 25 Fast-Growth Shows. This list is designed to identify some of the fastest-growing shows in the industry and illuminate the areas of—and reasons for—their growth.

The list is to some extent self-selecting. We did a call for entries during the month of January 2011. From the list of entrants, we culled our designees through a rigorous process that factored in size of the event in square-footage, number of attendees, number of exhibitors, revenue, and how all of these metrics grew from the prior year. We also looked at the number of attendees per square-foot of exhibit space because we believe the closer these two metrics are, the more efficient an event is and the more satisfied exhibitors are. We think a list that encompasses all of these factors is more relevant, and a truer reflection of real performance, than a simpler list that merely tracks largest to smallest.

Our annual survey is open to all shows—trade, consumer, for-profit, association and more. As you will see from our list, all sectors are represented, and being the largest doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be first.
We also identified several shows from the list for profiles—a look behind the scenes at what they did to achieve their growth. These are great stories, both illuminating and inspiring.

1) PAACE Automechanika Mexico

2) MMA World Expo

3) Texworld USA (Summer Edition)

4) IFT Annual Meeting and Food Expo

5) Pennsylvania RV and Camping Show

6) 33rd Annual Harvest Festival

7) Consumer Electronics Show

8) American Society of Human Genetics 60th Annual Meeting

9) Integrated Systems Europe

10) SuperZoo

11) Wedding Faire

12) International Baking Industry Exposition

13) Surf Expo

14) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show

15) 2010 ARM® Technology Conference

16) Clean Gulf Conference and Exposition

17) Texworld USA (Winter Edition)

18) IAAPA Attractions Expo

19) Wedding MBA

20) Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting and Trade Show

21) Scuba Show

22) Content & Communications World

23) GovSec and U.S. Law Conference & Expo

24) Bridal Showplace Southern California

25) United Fresh 2010

Methodology: The list of the Top 25 Fast-Growth Shows was determined by measuring performance in eight categories: Square-footage size; square-footage growth year over year; attendee size; attendee growth year over year; exhibitor size; exhibitor growth year over year; attendees per square foot of exhibit space; and revenue growth from prior year. The shows were ranked in each of these eight categories, and their rankings were used as factors. Factor-scores were tallied to determine an overall score. The show with the lowest point total, meaning that it was close to the number-one performer in many or most categories, was ranked number one. And so on down the line. All ranks are shown with each show on the list.