Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies terms and definitions that are commonly used in the exhibition and convention industry with the development of digital economy.

They are grouped into the following six categories:

— individual and entity, which lists and classifies the various types of people involved in the exhibition and convention industry.

— type of event, which defines the different types of exhibitions and their related meetings, including physical, hybrid, and digital exhibition and convention.

— exhibition-related activities, describing related activities during the exhibition.

— physical item, which describes the various composition sizes, facilities and types of printed materials of the exhibition.

Further enriches the vocabulary related to booth design, production, construction and management.

— Sustainable exhibitions and convention, which describes terms related to sustainable development in the exhibition and convention industry;

— miscellaneous.

Purpose

At the 81st meeting of ISO/TMB in June 2021, ISO/TMB 58/2021 rejected the proposal for an IWA on “Exhibition booth-vocabulary” by China. It however, directed ISO/TC 228-Tourism and related services to consider the proposed IWA in revising the ISO 25639 series standards. Specifically, ISO/TC 228 was tasked to amend the ISO 25639-1: 2008-Exhibitions, shows, fairs, and conventions-part 1: Vocabulary, and to provide feedback on the work progress at the ISO/TMB meeting in September 2021.

ISO 25639-1:2008 was published 13 years ago, and over the last decade, the rapid development of the global digital economy and the full implementation of sustainable development strategy have brought about new formats, new fields, and new concepts in the exhibition and convention industry. The connotations of some vocabularies have also evolved. The original standard can no longer meet the latest industry demands, which makes it difficult to accurately and comprehensively identify the contents of exhibition and convention activities.

The global exhibition and convention industry is one of the most hit by COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the industry to a halt. However, according to the recent The Global Exhibition Barometer (July 2021) released by UFI, the international association of exhibition industries, the industry is gradually improving, as most companies around the world expect to reopen local and national exhibitions in the next 12 months and international exhibitions in the first half of 2022. The global exhibition and convention industry needs to be revived, especially the live exhibition and convention activities. Under such circumstance, we propose to revise ISO 25639-1:2008 as soon as possible to meet the development direction and demands of the global economy, particularly the exhibition and convention industry. This will help explain and understand the various components of the exhibition and convention industry, and provide guidance for industry participants.

The revision will also facilitate the recovery and sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, once the NWIP is approved, we can expand the participants in the standards revision work. The objectives of this revision are the following: -Improve the advancement and applicability of standards, meet the latest development direction and needs of the exhibition and convention industry. 1. In recent years, digitalization has been a significant opportunity and challenge for the development of the exhibition and convention industry. With the COVID-19, digitalization of products and services in the exhibition and convention industry has been highlighted in a larger scope, and a hybrid format between "physical and digital” exhibitions and conventions was formed. It has become the development trend of the industry to exemplify more digital elements, a phenomenon that is not reflected when ISO 25639-

1:2008 was issued in 2008, in exhibitions and conventions. It is therefore necessary to update the original standard to keep pace with the latest development and direction of the industry.

2. With the digitalization in the exhibition and convention industry, new fields, new concepts, and new terms have gradually emerged, such as "online or virtual exhibition," "mixed exhibition (meeting)," "online matching," "online invitation," and "virtual exhibits,", etc. It is necessary to update the standards to incorporate and identify these terms, and ensure that the standards embody best practices to meet the development needs of the industry.

-Maintain the integrity and accuracy of standards, and solve the ambiguity and misunderstanding caused by the lack of standards and changes in connotation.

1. ISO 25639-1:2008 lists 58 terms and definitions that covers mainly the personnel involved in the exhibition industry, the types of exhibition and convention, physical items and miscellaneous items. It lacks vocabulary of relevant exhibition-related activities, such as "inviting investment," "inviting exhibitions," "matching," "transportation of exhibits," and "sales of exhibits," thus, cannot meet the market demand for communication and full understanding of the vocabulary of exhibition activities. This needs to be revised to keep the integrity of the standard content.

2. Booth building is an essential part of the exhibition and also plays a crucial role in attracting the attention of the audience and enhancing the brand image of exhibitors. However, only three entries in ISO 25639-1:2008 are related to "exhibition booth," making the vocabulary about exhibition stand is extremely insufficient. It is observed that organizers, exhibitors, exhibition design service providers, and builders in various countries have different understanding of the terms related to exhibition stands. It is necessary to revise the standards to further enrich the terminology pertaining to exhibition booths. In the previous proposal of IWA "Vocabulary of Exhibition Booths" in China, 70 related terms were included, which can be considered in the revision of ISO 25639-1.

3. ISO 25639-1:2008 is a standard "exhibition and convention," vocabulary but there are only five vocabularies related to the convention, namely " conference, convention, seminar, symposium, and workshop". According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) data, the average number of international conventions held in the world increased by 3% from 2008 to 2019. The types of conventions have increased and it can be seen from the inquiry through ISO official website, except ISO 25639-1. In addition to the five kinds of meetings mentioned in 2008, "meeting, congress, forum, webinar, panel" are often used to indicate other types of meetings which includes the most commonly known as ‘Summit’. ISO 25639-1:2008 needs to be revised to supplement relevant vocabulary.

4. With the development of science and technology, rules and concepts, the meanings of some words in ISO 25639-1:2008 have changed. Exhibitor, for example, was originally defined as the entity that displays products or services accepted by the organizer, with personnel present at the exhibition, including main exhibitors and co-exhibitors. With the emergence of online and virtual exhibitions, "with personnel present at the exhibition" will no longer be so accurate. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the vocabulary with changed meanings, ensuring the accuracy of standards.

-The sustainable development goals are integrated into the standards to further promote and support the sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry.

Exhibitions and conventions, particularly the large ones, bring economic benefits, but sometimes they are not sustainable and are often accompanied by more waste of materials and higher energy consumption, contributing to environmental pollution.

On the other hand, these large exhibition and convention centers generally take sustainable development as their enterprise development strategy. The best practices in line with sustainable development have been formed by improving the working methods and sustainability of each exhibition and convention. At the same time, ISO issued ISO 20121:2012- event sustainability management systems–requirements with guidance for use. ISO/DIS 23405, tourism and related services-sustainable tourism-principles, terminology and model is also being studied, which guides the sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry.

In these regard, ISO 25639-1:2008 does not address the issue of sustainability making it imperative to supplement the vocabulary to promote and support sustainable development in the exhibition and convention industry, based on existing standards and best practices. 

At the 81st meeting of ISO/TMB in June 2021, ISO/TMB 58/2021 rejected the proposal for an IWA on “Exhibition booth-vocabulary” by China. It however, directed ISO/TC 228-Tourism and related services to consider the proposed IWA in revising the ISO 25639 series standards. Specifically, ISO/TC 228 was tasked to amend the ISO 25639-1: 2008-Exhibitions, shows, fairs, and conventions-part 1: Vocabulary, and to provide feedback on the work progress at the ISO/TMB meeting in September 2021.

ISO 25639-1:2008 was published 13 years ago, and over the last decade, the rapid development of the global digital economy and the full implementation of sustainable development strategy have brought about new formats, new fields, and new concepts in the exhibition and convention industry. The connotations of some vocabularies have also evolved. The original standard can no longer meet the latest industry demands, which makes it difficult to accurately and comprehensively identify the contents of exhibition and convention activities. The global exhibition and convention industry is one of the most hit by COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the industry to a halt. However, according to the recent The Global Exhibition Barometer (July 2021) released by UFI, the international association of exhibition industries, the industry is gradually improving, as most companies around the world expect to reopen local and national exhibitions in the next 12 months and international exhibitions in the first half of 2022.

The global exhibition and convention industry needs to be revived, especially the live exhibition and convention activities. Under such circumstance, we propose to revise ISO 25639-1:2008 as soon as possible to meet the development direction and demands of the global economy, particularly the exhibition and convention industry. This will help explain and understand the various components of the exhibition and convention industry, and provide guidance for industry participants. The revision will also facilitate the recovery and sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, once the NWIP is approved, we can expand the participants in the standards revision work.

The objectives of this revision are the following:

-Improve the advancement and applicability of standards, meet the latest development direction and needs of the exhibition and convention industry.

1. In recent years, digitalization has been a significant opportunity and challenge for the development of the exhibition and convention industry. With the COVID-19, digitalization of products and services in the exhibition and convention industry has been highlighted in a larger scope, and a hybrid format between "physical and digital” exhibitions and conventions was formed. It has become the development trend of the industry to exemplify more digital elements, a phenomenon that is not reflected when ISO 25639-1:2008 was issued in 2008, in exhibitions and conventions. It is therefore necessary to update the original standard to keep pace with the latest development and direction of the industry.

2. With the digitalization in the exhibition and convention industry, new fields, new concepts, and new terms have gradually emerged, such as "online or virtual exhibition," "mixed exhibition (meeting)," "online matching," "online invitation," and "virtual exhibits,", etc. It is necessary to update the standards to incorporate and identify these terms, and ensure that the standards embody best practices to meet the development needs of the industry.

-Maintain the integrity and accuracy of standards, and solve the ambiguity and misunderstanding caused by the lack of standards and changes in connotation.

1. ISO 25639-1:2008 lists 58 terms and definitions that covers mainly the personnel involved in the exhibition industry, the types of exhibition and convention, physical items and miscellaneous items. It lacks vocabulary of relevant exhibition-related activities, such as "inviting investment," "inviting exhibitions," "matching," "transportation of exhibits," and "sales of exhibits," thus, cannot meet the market demand for communication and full understanding of the vocabulary of exhibition activities. This needs to be revised to keep the integrity of the standard content.

2. Booth building is an essential part of the exhibition and also plays a crucial role in attracting the attention of the audience and enhancing the brand image of exhibitors. However, only three entries in ISO 25639-1:2008 are related to "exhibition booth," making the vocabulary about exhibition stand is extremely insufficient. It is observed that organizers, exhibitors, exhibition design service providers, and builders in various countries have different understanding of the terms related to exhibition stands. It is necessary to revise the standards to further enrich the terminology pertaining to exhibition booths. In the previous proposal of IWA "Vocabulary of Exhibition Booths" in China, 70 related terms were included, which can be considered in the revision of ISO 25639-1.

3. ISO 25639-1:2008 is a standard "exhibition and convention," vocabulary but there are only five vocabularies related to the convention, namely " conference, convention, seminar, symposium, and  workshop". According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) data, the average number of international conventions held in the world increased by 3% from 2008 to 2019. The types of conventions have increased and it can be seen from the inquiry through ISO official website, except ISO 25639-1. In addition to the five kinds of meetings mentioned in 2008, "meeting, congress, forum, webinar, panel" are often used to indicate other types of meetings which includes the most commonly known as ‘Summit’. ISO 25639-1:2008 needs to be revised to supplement relevant vocabulary.

4. With the development of science and technology, rules and concepts, the meanings of some words in ISO 25639-1:2008 have changed. Exhibitor, for example, was originally defined as the entity that displays products or services accepted by the organizer, with personnel present at the exhibition, including main exhibitors and co-exhibitors. With the emergence of online and virtual exhibitions, "with personnel present at the exhibition" will no longer be so accurate. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the vocabulary with changed meanings, ensuring the accuracy of standards.

-The sustainable development goals are integrated into the standards to further promote and support the sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry.

Exhibitions and conventions, particularly the large ones, bring economic benefits, but sometimes they are not sustainable and are often accompanied by more waste of materials and higher energy consumption, contributing to environmental pollution.

On the other hand, these large exhibition and convention centers generally take sustainable development as their enterprise development strategy. The best practices in line with sustainable development have been formed by improving the working methods and sustainability of each exhibition and convention. At the same time, ISO issued ISO 20121:2012- event sustainability management systems–requirements with guidance for use. ISO/DIS 23405, tourism and related services-sustainable tourism-principles, terminology and model is also being studied, which guides the sustainable development of the exhibition and convention industry.

In these regard, ISO 25639-1:2008 does not address the issue of sustainability making it imperative to supplement the vocabulary to promote and support sustainable development in the exhibition and convention industry, based on existing standards and best practices.