Economic impact of Messukeskus amounts to EUR 282 million in the Helsinki region
Messukeskus produces both experiences and euros for the Helsinki region. Last year, Messukeskus employed and brought income worth EUR 282 million to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
“Our events are a real boost for the entire economy of the metropolitan area. We are delighted that the very significant economic impact of Messukeskus has now been calculated for the first time in a comprehensive and statistically reliable manner”, says Anni Vepsäläinen, Managing Director of Messukeskus.
The report by Haaga-Helia takes into account both the income brought by exhibitors and visitors to the Helsinki region and the employment impact of the events.
The employment impact of Messukeskus for the Helsinki region was 3,957 person-years, of which the direct employment impact amounted to 2,486 person-years. The increase in sales for hotels and restaurants in the metropolitan area was EUR 88 million.
According to the report, the average exhibitor budget when participating in a fair is EUR 8,482, most of which is spent on the design, construction and rental costs for the stand. Visitors spend an average of EUR 104 during their visit, with visitors to trade fairs spending slightly more than visitors to public fairs. The amount consists of restaurant and café services as well as travel and accommodation expenses.
The international conferences held at Messukeskus are particularly lucrative for the Helsinki region. Each conference participant boosts the metropolitan area’s pot by an average of EUR 1,800.
Haaga-Helia’s calculation is based on the events organised at Messukeskus in 2018. Messukeskus had more than 1.2 million visitors in 2018. A total of 96 of Messukeskus’ own fairs and third-party events were held with 9,000 companies participating. With regard to conferences, 1,440 were arranged at Messukeskus.
The calculations take account of the turnover created by fairs directly and indirectly, the distribution of income flows among different sectors, the direct and indirect effects on employment, as well as the effects on tax revenue. Information on the number of visitors and exhibitors at fairs, their use of money, the duration of the trip to the fair and the departure area are used as a basis.
“The global trend is that the importance of events and personal encounters in marketing will increase. This is also supported by the recent survey by Kantar TNS measuring the amount of media advertising. In the survey, the amount of euros spent by companies on fair marketing last year in Finland increased by as much as 12% from the previous year”, says Vepsäläinen.
This year, centennial celebrations will add colour to the busy flow of events at Messukeskus. The owner company the Finnish Fair Corporation was founded shortly after Finland gained its independence, with the mission to promote Finnish business through fairs.
Messukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre promotes Finnish trade and industry by enabling productive face-to-face contacts at trade shows, conventions, conferences and other events. Exhibitions and fairs are Finland’s seventh largest media. In terms of impact, they are the most profitable, the richest in experiences, and the most social of all media. The Finnish Fair Corporation, the company that owns Messukeskus Helsinki, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019.
Messukeskus – a century in the centre of events | www.messukeskus.com
Further information:
Messukeskus Helsinki, Director, Marketing and Communications, Maria Mroue, tel. +358 50 393 4974, maria.mroue@messukeskus.com Communications Manager Tarja Gordienko, tel. +358 50 5847 262, tarja.gordienko@messukeskus.com.
Haaga-Helia, Principal Lecturer Teemu Moilanen, tel. +358 40 510 7317, teemu.moilanen@haaga-helia.fi
Image bank: https://messukeskus.mediabank.fi/en
