Editorial Note: Originally published in the June 2026 issue of Trade Show Executive magazine.
Across our industry, one question is coming up more frequently and more urgently: Is the cost of showing up still worth it?
That conversation is happening across boardrooms, marketing departments and exhibit planning teams – and it matters. Cost pressure isn’t new. But what we’re navigating today feels different in kind, not just degree.
Travel inflation, higher operating costs and rising service expenses have created a more challenging equation for exhibitors trying to justify their budgets. And when exhibitors feel that pressure, organizers feel it too.
The latest data from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research’s (CEIR) recently published “How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent 2026” report reinforces what many of us are already sensing. Exhibit space remains the dominant cost center, consuming roughly 40 cents of every dollar an exhibitor spends, and that share has grown slightly since the last comparable study.
But the real pressure builds after the booth contract is signed.
Staff travel and entertainment, show services, design and graphics, and shipping are downstream costs that collectively consume the majority of the remaining budget. These are also the categories most exposed to inflation and logistical volatility, making them harder to predict and harder to manage.
For exhibitors with smaller marketing budgets, spending is concentrated on the core necessities such as space and staffing, leaving little room to invest in the kinds of engagement strategies that generate real floor traffic and qualified leads. They’re showing up, but not always showing up competitively. And that’s a problem we should care about, because a healthy show floor requires a healthy mix of exhibitor sizes and categories.
What I find most telling in the CEIR data is what exhibitors are saying about 2026. A meaningful share say they plan to increase spending on exhibit space and shipping, two of the most cost-exposed categories in the budget.
That’s a clean signal of commitment to the channel.
But it also raises an important challenge for all of us. If exhibitors are stretching their budgets to maintain or expand participation, we owe them an intentional value proposition in return.
That starts with asking ourselves some direct questions:
Are we making move-in and move-out as efficient as possible?
Are we doing everything we can to reduce friction in show services – an area that consistently ranks among the top cost concerns?
Are we offering transparency and flexibility in sponsorship structures so exhibitors at every budget level can access meaningful visibility?
These aren’t rhetorical questions; they’re operational expectations and, increasingly, they’re part of how exhibitors evaluate participation.
So here is my ask this month:
Sit down with your exhibitor-facing teams to identify the single biggest friction point in the cost of participating in your events and what it would take to meaningfully reduce it.
Because our exhibitors are making hard budget decisions right now. The least we can do is make sure they know we’re paying attention – and taking action.
Our industry has overcome significant challenges before, and I’m confident we’ll do so again. But it starts with being honest about where we can improve and making a clear commitment to do so.
Because the future of our events doesn’t just depend on getting exhibitors to show up.
It depends on making sure it’s worth it when they do.
Brian Pagel
2026 IAEE Chairperson
Executive Vice President
Emerald
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