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Funworld January 2008
Attractions Expo 2007 HIGHLIGHTS» Absence Makes the Show Grow Fonder Absence Makes the Show Grow Fonder
by Jeremy Schoolfield IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS leading up to IAAPA Attractions Expo 2007, one phrase was repeated over and over around the association’s Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters: “Don’t take Orlando for granted.” So when the doors were officially thrown open Tuesday, Nov. 13, on a sold-out show floor and attendees by the thousands started to flood into the convention center, everyone involved with Expo 2007— IAAPA staff and officers, exhibitors and buyers—could crack a little smile. Over the course of four days, IAAPA put on what has been confirmed as one of its best events in recent memory. “We did not take going back
to Orlando for granted, and
we did exceed our expectations,” said Charlie Bray,
president and CEO of
IAAPA. “We expected a “By all accounts, the show was not only a huge success for us, but for the entire industry. The sense of optimism that I felt during the week we were in Orlando was as high as I’ve felt in my three years at IAAPA. There seems to be not only stability in the business, but an expectation of growth.” “It’s been an incredible success,” confirmed Andreas Kornprobst of Austria’s 5D Network. “We’ve had so many high-class meetings. Real people who really want to do something new. I can’t remember a single meeting I would consider a waste of time. This was a tremendous show for us. Great contacts, great people, great discussions. We’re looking forward to coming back next year.”
“I get most, if not all, of my international business at the Expo,” said Rick Kirkland, owner of New Zealand-based Evento Company. “This show is a great opportunity for me to showcase my business on a global level.” One of the biggest surprises didn’t occur until the last day, however. This year IAAPA moved the Expo up a day so it ended on a Friday, instead of the typical Saturday. The decision proved a smashing success, as the show floor remained full right up to the end. “Clearly it worked,” Bray said of the new Friday close. “Everyone on the floor Friday was excited— both buyers and sellers. The No. 1 comment on was, ‘This is no Saturday.’ Clearly, moving our show up a day was the right move. We had to start pushing people off the floor at 4 o’clock. “I’ve probably done 40 trade shows of this size in 30 years, and I’ve never seen a last day like that one,” Bray continued. “We were thrilled. Every show that IAAPA is associated with in the future will not open or close on the weekend.”
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IAAPA Attractions Expo’s return to Orlando met with resounding acclaim, success 
Yes, the industry’s largest event was returning to its unofficial home in central Florida after a two-year absence. Yes, the booths on the show floor were selling quickly and early. Yes, the show’s dates were moved up a day to get off the weekend. But until the Expo actually arrived at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, no one was about to start counting the proverbial chickens.
surge
in exhibit sales and attendance
on our return to Orlando, but I
didn’t expect a sold-out trade show floor, I didn’t expect to see attendance targets beat by 2,000 people.
When all was said and done, IAAPA Attractions Expo 2007 drew approximately 27,000 people, an increase of 30 percent from the previous year. Attendees came from nearly 100 countries, and the number of buyers from outside the United States was up 70 percent. Buyers from Europe doubled over 2006, while attendance from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Canada, and Latin America increased 30 to 50 percent. The capacity show floor hosted 1,147 exhibitors on 512,738 net square feet of space, making Expo 2007 the second-largest indoor show in the event’s history. 
at
Expo 2006. Social events were a hit, as well, with more than 1,000 attending the Expo’s Welcome Reception and a sold-out crowd of
540 at the annual gala event. 
