Coverings chalks up new records
01 JUNE 2002
With total attendance reaching a record 30,695 trade and professional visitors from over 101 countries, Coverings 2002 held last month at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, US, chalked up several new records this year.
A total of 21,641 attendees and 8,852 exhibitor personnel registered bringing the total count including over 200 press registrations to a new record of 30,695 verified visitors, the organisers said.
While attendees posted a 20 per cent gain, the total number of the show population increased by 16 per cent over the 2001 event in New Orleans.
Bob Daniels, chairman of this year's event, said: "Coverings 2002 attendance set many new records, in fact 30 per cent of all visitors to this year's event came from outside the US, reinforcing the global scope of our event. It clearly reached new heights.
"The all-important marketing and distribution visitors segment dominated the Coverings visitor profile and represented a whopping 45 per cent share of the attendee audience."
With 481,940 sq ft of exhibition space, an increase of 9.4 per cent, the 2002 edition of Coverings weighed in as the largest event in the show's history and truly represented a global marketplace, according to the organiser.
Coverings' conference programme, Vision 2002, attracted large numbers of visitors to more than 86 separate seminars, and roundtables.
Session counts in aggregate grew by over 26 per cent and totalled an impressive 6,400 participants.
