Event holders talk serious numbers

Event organisers in the Middle East are undertaking professional audits of visitor numbers amid accusations of practices such as exaggerated attendance reports and inclusion of catering staff in official figures.

So far, only a handful of exhibitions among the hundreds hosted in the region every year undergo audits from professional bodies such as BPA Worldwide. But the need for sponsors and exhibitors to justify the expense is providing an increasing impetus to change, said Aspen Aman, the Middle East business development manager for auditing BPA.

Organisers “are realising that the events industry is having the same squeeze on it as the rest of the media industry,”, Ms Aman said.

“They’re trying to establish some kind of differentiation between themselves and other shows. It’s that lack of accountability that makes it hard for any sponsor or exhibitor to arrive at any ROI [return on investment] on what they put into a show. More.