According to the 2011 CEIR Index Report, the exhibitions industry “hit bottom” in 2010. By the halfway point of last year, all four metrics were trending upward, although only one—attendance—had increased relative to the 2009 baseline. Based on sector-related output, consumption expenditures, and employment, plus other factors, each metric is forecasted to steadily improve over this year and next, reaching levels last seen in mid-2003 by the beginning of 2013. This reinforces the 2011 CEIR Index Report’s claim that “most sectors experienced a ‘lost decade.’”“It is believed that the worst of the economic downturn is behind the exhibition industry,” the report states.Yet there is one particular threat tothis optimistic forecast.“Theexhibition industry…couldbedirectlyimpactedby localgovernment expense reduc- tions as state governments substantially reduce their aid to local governments,” the report cautions, noting that nearly all major exhibition centers are owned by municipalities. “Cities reducing essential services may conclude they no longer can subsidize facility maintenance…which could negatively impact the exhibitions being held in that facility.”