The global exhibition industry just delivered its clearest confidence signal of the year. UFI’s 37th Global Exhibition Barometer, published in July 2026 from a survey of organisers and venue operators worldwide, found that 27% of companies expect revenue growth above 5% in the year ahead, while another 38% anticipate stable revenues. Perhaps more telling for budget holders: 91% of exhibition companies now report using AI in their operations, up from 87% just six months earlier, even as cost pressures across the sector remain real.
For Saudi CXOs overseeing venues, exhibition portfolios, or corporate event budgets, this is not background noise. It is a leading indicator for how much capital and technology spending peers worldwide are committing to in 2027 planning cycles, and it lands at a moment when Saudi Arabia’s own event management market is expanding fast enough that budget decisions made this year will shape competitive position for the next five.
What the Barometer actually shows
UFI’s July 2026 edition, based on a global survey concluded in June 2026 covering 20 specific markets and regions, points to an industry that is growing but bifurcated: a majority of companies expect flat-to-modest growth, while a meaningful minority is pulling ahead through faster AI adoption and more aggressive revenue targets. That gap matters for CXOs because it suggests confidence alone is no longer the differentiator — technology investment intensity is.
- 27% of exhibition companies globally expect revenue growth above 5% in the coming year.
- 38% anticipate stable, flat revenues rather than growth or decline.
- 91% now report using AI in some part of their operations, a four-point jump in six months.
Saudi Arabia’s budget backdrop
The global signal arrives as Saudi Arabia’s own event management market is priced at USD 2.77 billion in 2026 and forecast to grow at a 7.14% CAGR to USD 3.92 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. Within that, the exhibitions and conferences segment is expanding even faster, at a projected 13.79% CAGR — meaningfully outpacing the broader market. That combination of global technology-investment momentum and above-market local growth is exactly the environment in which CXOs are asked to decide, now, how much of next year’s budget goes to AI-enabled operations versus traditional cost lines.
Why this is a budget-planning question, not just a trends story
Three dynamics should shape how Saudi CXOs read the Barometer heading into 2027 planning:
- Technology spend is becoming table stakes, not a differentiator. When 91% of global exhibition companies report AI use, the CXO question shifts from “should we invest” to “are we investing enough to keep pace.”
- Confidence is uneven, which is an opening. With only around a quarter of companies globally expecting strong growth, Saudi organisers and venue operators who commit capital deliberately this cycle can outgrow a global peer set that is largely holding steady.
- Local growth is outrunning the global average. A market growing at 7.14% overall, with exhibitions and conferences at nearly double that rate, means budget models built on flat or conservative assumptions risk under-resourcing the fastest-growing segment of the business.
What This Means for Industry Professionals
For CXOs and senior budget-holders across Saudi Arabia’s events sector, the practical takeaways from this data are:
- Treat AI and technology-operations spend as a 2027 baseline requirement in budget models, not a discretionary upgrade, given where the global market already sits.
- Benchmark internal revenue-growth targets against the global 27%/38% split — falling into the “flat revenue” majority may be acceptable for mature markets but is a weak target given Saudi Arabia’s above-market CAGR.
- Prioritise capital toward exhibitions and conferences specifically, where Mordor Intelligence’s data shows the segment growing nearly twice as fast as the overall Saudi event management market.
- Revisit budget assumptions at least twice a year — UFI’s own data shifted meaningfully in just six months, and annual-only budget reviews risk missing that pace of change.
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