Based on the preliminary statistical data at the disposal of Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry and CENTREX, the International Exhibition Statistics Union, the auditor of the said data, it can be declared that exhibitions in Poland still remain a significant instrument of marketing and business communication. Comparing the exhibition statistics at 2-year intervals (due to the 2-year cycle of organisation of some of the leading brands), Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry forecasts the growth tendency in all key parameters: contracted exhibition space, the number of exhibitors and the number of visitors. According to the data of PCEI and CENTREX, the growth in the contracted space at exhibitions in 2014 will amount to approximately 73.5 thousand sq.m. (2014: almost 816 thousand; 2012: over 742 thousand), the growth in the number of visitors is estimated at approximately 120 thousand people (2014: over 1,282 thousand; 2012: over 1,162 thousand), and the number of exhibitors grew by 987 (2014: almost 29 thousand; 2012: almost 28 thousand). The number of trade fairs and exhibitions, as compared to 2012, remains at a similar level. Poznań International Fair – the leader in the sector – noted the growth in the number of visitors by 32.11% and the contracted space by 15.54%. The number of exhibitors at Poznań exhibitions remained almost at the same level. – Both the organizers of exhibitions in Poland and the companies which design and construct exhibition stands feel that exhibitors, who make use of the economic revival we have been experiencing since 2013, keep on participating in exhibitions and even increase outlays on this platform of business communication and marketing. They have invested in improving the quality of the participation in exhibitions as well as in the size of their expositions – comments Marzenna Łukaszewicz, PCEI Executive Director. – Statistics prove the continuous growth tendency in terms of the visitors at exhibitions in Poland. The trend has been growing continually since 2010. – adds Halina Trawa, PCEI Deputy Executive Director. The growth tendency According to exhibition experts, the long-term economic growth in Poland supports the development of the Polish exhibition sector which is oriented towards the needs of the economy and entrepreneurs and which encourages the economic development of regions and the country. Better condition of many small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland encourages them to take part in over 200 specialist trade fairs and exhibitions in the country. The favourable geopolitical location of Poland is of no small importance. The significance of Poland as an important – if not the most important – exhibition region in Central Europe is growing. It is fostered by the constantly developed infrastructure of exhibition and conference venues and the offer of accompanying events, as well as by the significant improvement of the road infrastructure. Exhibitions are changing Widely understood exhibitions are currently changing their functions and image. We are facing hybridization of operations of companies in the exhibition sector. – Previously we had mostly contract-oriented fairs where it was the most important to conclude a contract or to gain such perspectives. Today we are dealing with professional organisers of conferences, congresses, events and exhibitions which accompany other events of sports, cultural, social and trade character – Przemysław Trawa, President of the Board of PCEI, summarises the changes occurring in the sector. Exhibition companies have spotted this fact and they started to expand their offer. Warsaw EXPO XXI is defined as not only as the exhibition space but also as the multi-venue, purposefully underlining the possibility of using the space in a much wider context than just for contract fairs. Targi w Krakowie also organizes congresses in Expo Kraków and allows for organising corporate events. PIF has been the host of many congress events for quite a long time now. Take the COP Conference in 2008 for example, which resulted in constructing the modern Congress Centre, i.e. the Earth Hall. CENTREX audit According to the information from CENTREX – the International Exhibition Statistics Union, the auditor of the statistical data of the Polish exhibition market, the final statistical results for 2014 will be announced in several weeks. Source: Polish Chamber of Exhibition Industry