With the slow summer season gripping the tradeshow industry in July and August, many of you are no doubt coming off of family vacations or planning to take some well deserved time off from the hustle and bustle of the show floor. Others are probably filling this dead time getting ready for the busy fall season when the industry will live once again.
One of the most telling signs that the industry is in hiatus is less than 1 mile from ECN headquarters: The Las Vegas Convention Center. Each day, I drive right past the convention center on my way home and the normal sea of semi-truck trailers in the parking lots behind the center have been reduced to empty asphalt. At the number one tradeshow destination in the nation, it is a strange sight to say the least.
But even as the industry reaches the half-way point of its two-month hibernation, signs of life still appear. The steady stream of People on the Move in our industry continues to flow on the ECN website and the TSEA just completed its 2011 Red Diamond Congress, with the EACA Annual Meeting co-located at the event.
Positive news from upcoming conventions also continues to come across my desk with increased exhibitor and attendee participation. PACK Expo exhibit space has already reached 600,000 square feet with two more months before the floor opens and G2E Asia recently surpassed last year’s attendence by 25 percent.
The summer season also seems to be the time when research and white papers are released to the industry. The EIC, the president of CEIR, IAEE and GES have all been busy publishing their views of best practices and industry studies.
The common theme for all of these documents is for the advocacy and improvement of face-to-face meetings, and I believe they hold the future of our industry in good hands.
During July and August, the tradeshow industry may be dead, but it won’t be long before the buzz on the show floor begins to intensify and the industry lives again.
In the mean time, I hope you enjoy reading our August focus articles on exhibit transportation and logistics.
Jeff Adcox
Editor
Comments? E-mail me at editor@exhibitcitynews.com.
