EFTTEX visitor numbers up

EFTTA is celebrating after official figures showed that more visitors attended EFTTEX 2010 than last year. EFTTEX welcomed 1,606 visitors to the Feria Valencia in Spain in June, up from the 1,505 visitors that attended the show in Budapest in June 2009.

The visitor figures once again vindicate EFTTA’s policy of moving the show to a different European location each year. Choosing Spain to host its first ever EFTTEX was a risk, but one that paid off, says the Association.

Says EFTTA CEO Jean Claude Bel: “Spain was a risk according to some people, but then we have people predicting a disaster whenever we choose any location other than Amsterdam!

“We heard the same arguments: flight connections, distances, the Spanish economic situation, no retailers will come… I haven’t heard the risk of malaria yet but I wouldn’t have been surprised!

“But in truth it is not easy to find the right place, you always have to make compromises, but Valencia was a good choice,” added Jean Claude. “The location was brilliant, Spanish retailers came massively given that it was the first EFTTEX in Spain and most of the people who gathered there were satisfied.

“We had more visitors from the south and probably less from the north, but that‘s why we try to reach everybody by moving the show each year. We actively worked with some Spanish companies months before the show in order to encourage Spanish buyers to come.”

There was some feeling amongst exhibitors that the show was not as busy as in previous years. But, says, Jean-Claude Bel, the size of the venue undoubtedly had an impact.

“Being in two halls always gives the impression that numbers are lower, plus the aisles were wider than usual. And what I would say to those exhibitors that complained about the attendance is this: is it the attendance at EFTTEX or the attendance at their stand? There is a difference. Exhibitors who helped promote EFTTEX by investing in their own marketing beforehand would have had people stopping at their stand. It can make a big difference at the end.”

For a full show report and reaction from exhibitors see the August issue of Angling International.