The figures for the contribution of the exhibition industry to Greece's economy are impressive. This year, the industry generated revenues of €1.062 billion, contributed €499 million to the GDP, and supported 8,400 jobs. These figures demonstrate the dynamic nature of the exhibition industry in Greece.
Direct costs and jobs include planning and organizing exhibitions, moving participants and exhibitors, and other costs related to exhibitions. Direct impacts do not include economic activity between exhibitors and visitors.
Indirect impacts are considered industry effects on secondary and regional supply industries. For example, facilities where exhibitions are held require energy and food products. Also, showrooms contract specialized service providers, such as marketing, equipment maintenance, cleaning, technology support, accounting, and legal and financial services.
These figures are from the Oxford Economics study on the contribution of exhibitions to the Greek economy, which was presented by the Association of Organizers and Producers of Exhibitions of Greece (SOKEE).
In 2022, exhibitions in Greece covered approximately 480,000 square meters of space. Based on the total economic impact of €1.062 billion and the total exhibition capacity of 147,500 sq.m. of Greece (as reported in the UFI World Map of Places), the total revenue per square meter of capacity was approximately €7,200.
The direct expenditure per square meter of space capacity reached €3,400 while the average direct expenditure per square meter of space capacity across Europe reached €2,500 in 2022.
According to UFI (World Association of Organizers of Trade Fairs), there are 1,425 exhibition spaces and 42.1 million m2 available worldwide. Most of them are located in Europe, followed by Asian countries and North America.
It is worth noting that in Europe, the majority of showrooms are situated in Germany.
Greece has several exhibition centers, with the largest one located in Thessaloniki and covering an area of 62,000 m2. The Metropolitan Expo in Athens is the second largest, covering 45,850 m2, followed by the MEC in Paania with 12,000 m2. Other notable exhibition centers include HELEXPO in Marousi with 8,000 m2, the Peristeri exhibition center with 7,900 m2, the International Exhibition Center of Crete with 6,500 m2, and the Rhodes Palace with 5,000 m2 of exhibition space.
