Trade Exhibition Visitor Numbers at UK Primary Venues Hit Their Highest Level Since 2015

Indexed to 2015 as 100, total visitor numbers at UK primary venues stood at 76 in 2025, with trade exhibitions on 107 and consumer exhibitions on 65. The average number of visitors per event was at 79, with trade on 108 and consumer on 70. Growth was particularly strong at trade exhibitions, where visitor numbers reached their highest point since 2015, while average visitor numbers at consumer exhibitions have declined steadily since 2019 and sit at around 70% of pre-Covid levels. Total visitor numbers were up 4% on 2024, driven by repeat exhibitions. Total visitor levels at consumer exhibitions were broadly static, largely because the overall number of consumer exhibitions increased in 2025, which diluted the per-event figure. The visitor trend is based on the four primary venues that have supplied consistent data since 2015: ExCeL London, the NEC, Olympia and the Scottish Event Campus, which together make up the primary-venue series.