Cheat sheet · updated 2026-11-12
Trade Show Seasonality by Industry 2026–27
When does each industry's trade show season actually happen? This sheet counts 1026 shows with organizer-verified dates across December 2026 – November 2027 and lays them out by month. Use it to pick the quarter to exhibit in, avoid pile-up weeks, and book travel before the peak.
The year at a glance
Shows starting in each month. March 2027 (151) and February 2027 (136) are the peaks; December 2026 (38) and July 2027 (39) are the quiet months among those already well published — the last months of the window fill in as organizers announce dates.
| Month | Shows |
|---|---|
| December 2026 | 38 |
| January 2027 | 129 |
| February 2027 | 136 |
| March 2027 | 151 |
| April 2027 | 122 |
| May 2027 | 97 |
| June 2027 | 94 |
| July 2027 | 39 |
| August 2027 | 40 |
| September 2027 | 86 |
| October 2027 | 64 |
| November 2027 | 30 |
Industry × month heatmap
Industries with at least 12 verified shows in the window, most active first. Darker = more shows starting that month; the number is in every cell. Click an industry for its full schedule.
| Industry | Dec ’26 | Jan ’27 | Feb ’27 | Mar ’27 | Apr ’27 | May ’27 | Jun ’27 | Jul ’27 | Aug ’27 | Sep ’27 | Oct ’27 | Nov ’27 | Total | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & Consumer Goods | 6 | 21 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 92 | Jan ’27 |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 86 | Apr ’27 |
| Outdoor Recreation | 3 | 18 | 29 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 76 | Feb ’27 |
| Building & Construction | 2 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 76 | Mar ’27 |
| Food & Beverage | 0 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 51 | Mar ’27 |
| Energy & Environment | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 45 | Mar ’27 |
| Toys & Gifts | 2 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 44 | Jan ’27 |
| Construction | 2 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 44 | Jan ’27 |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 42 | Mar ’27 |
| Agriculture & Cannabis | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 40 | Feb ’27 |
| Cybersecurity | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | Jun ’27 |
| Boating & Marine | 1 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 38 | Feb ’27 |
| Marketing, Media & Publishing | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 37 | Apr ’27 |
| Agriculture & Farming | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 37 | Feb ’27 |
| Fashion & Apparel | 1 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | Jan ’27 |
| Travel, Hospitality & Outdoor | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 35 | May ’27 |
| Technology & Electronics | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 34 | Mar ’27 |
| RV & Camping | 0 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 34 | Feb ’27 |
| Supply Chain & Logistics | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33 | May ’27 |
| Enterprise IT | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 31 | May ’27 |
| Real Estate | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 29 | May ’27 |
| Automotive & Mobility | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 29 | Mar ’27 |
| Gaming | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | Mar ’27 |
| Tourism & Travel | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 26 | Aug ’27 |
| Pharmaceutical | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 26 | Mar ’27 |
| Aerospace | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 24 | Apr ’27 |
| Beauty & Cosmetics | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 24 | Mar ’27 |
| Financial Services | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 23 | Mar ’27 |
| AI & Machine Learning | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 22 | Jun ’27 |
| Human Resources | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 21 | Apr ’27 |
Outlined cell = that industry's peak month. A show tagged with two industries counts in both rows.
Who peaks when
Busiest weeks
- Week of Mar 15–Mar 21, 202752
- Week of Mar 1–Mar 7, 202747
- Week of Feb 1–Feb 7, 202745
- Week of Jan 18–Jan 24, 202739
- Week of Apr 12–Apr 18, 202736
- Week of Jan 25–Jan 31, 202735
Weeks start Monday. Expect hotel and flight pressure in host cities these weeks.
Where the shows are
- Las Vegas105
- New York46
- Orlando36
- Chicago32
- London23
- Atlanta22
- Birmingham21
- Miami Beach18
- Boston18
- Anaheim18
30 countries in the window. Las Vegas by month: Dec 4 · Jan 11 · Feb 13 · Mar 14 · Apr 11 · May 10 · Jun 6 · Jul 6 · Aug 5 · Sep 12 · Oct 7 · Nov 6.
Shape of a show
Length (days, incl. first and last): 1-day 45 · 2-day 172 · 3-day 439 · 4-day 256 · 5-day 71 · 6-day 17 · 7-day 12.
Opening day: Mon 180 · Tue 253 · Wed 186 · Thu 111 · Fri 119 · Sat 58 · Sun 119.
Plan travel for a Monday or Tuesday open and a 3–4 day run unless the show page says otherwise.
How to use this
- Exhibitors: your industry's peak month is where your buyers already travel — but it's also where booth space, housing and attention are scarcest. The second-peak month is often the better value. Open the industry's hub from the heatmap for the actual shows, then run the ROI calculator on the shortlist.
- Attendees: stack visits inside a peak month and city (Las Vegas in March 2027 is the obvious one) to cover several shows per trip; avoid the busiest weeks if you're booking late.
- Organizers and marketers: the quiet months are where a new event meets the least calendar competition.
Method
Counts are organizer-verified shows in the ConventionGrid catalog starting in each calendar month of December 2026 – November 2027, recomputed every time the site builds. A show tagged with more than one industry is counted in each. This is our verified calendar, not a census of every event in the world — as organizers publish dates for the far end of the window the later months fill in. Month pages: Dec ’26 · Jan ’27 · Feb ’27 · Mar ’27 · Apr ’27 · May ’27 · Jun ’27 · Jul ’27 · Aug ’27 · Sep ’27 · Oct ’27 · Nov ’27.
Cite freely with a link (CC BY 4.0). Related: Trade Show Planning Hub · the calendar · Show Countdown Planner · venues.