More tanners are taking part in trade shows and planning to do so in the future, according to the 2024 ILM Tanner Business Confidence Survey. By ILM.

In 2023, when tanners were asked which trade shows they exhibited at during the past year, many of the various options were below 10% (with respondents able to pick more than one answer) but the percentages have increased significantly in this year’s survey.

APLF Hong Kong (57%) and Lineapelle / Simac Tanning Tech (56%) were the leading results, as expected, but 35% said they had exhibited at the India International Leather Fair (IILF) and more than 20% included the ACLE, Anpic and Premiere Vision Leather.

Meanwhile, 76% of the survey respondents said that they would exhibit at or visit an international trade show or live industry events before the end of 2024, up from 63% last year.

Driving this trend, a huge 92% majority said they would do the same in 2025, showing that trade shows may finally be back to pre-pandemic form after a long recovery period.

All eyes will be on the ACLE, Lineapelle and Simac Tanning Tech events left in the 2024 calendar to gauge the direction of the industry through the end of this year and into the next.

The full results of the 2024 Tanner Business Confidence Survey are available now on the website for all ILM subscribers, including more information from tanners on which trade shows they prioritise as well as a range of other data and hot button issues.

Subscribe to ILM today to access the full results as well as the latest leather industry news, technical and legislative updates, thought leadership and much more.