Global Fastener News

Columbus Attendance Drops 33.9%

John Wolz

Total registration for the 2000 National Industrial Fastener Show & Conference dropped by more than one-third from 4,899 in 1999 to 3,240 this year, according to numbers released by show management.
The decline costs Columbus the “World�s Largest Fastener Show” attendance title as show management�s announced total at the West version of the show last November in Las Vegas was 3,800.
Las Vegas also is approaching a sellout of its 500 available booths for the November 17, 2000 show, which would eclipse the 475 booths at Columbus this year.
Columbus exhibitor staff registration again outnumbered the total of advance and onsite registered attendees. According to show management, exhibitors numbered 1,670. There were 1,570 attendee registrations, including 910 distributors, 26 importers, 197 manufacturers, 234 manufacturer reps, 3 from the media and 177 “other.”
Show management�s numbers at both Columbus and Las Vegas include advance and onsite registrations. Trade show experts estimate 40% to 60% of all preregistered attendees do not actually attend the shows.
Neither show has used a verified attendance system to determine actual attendance numbers and neither has been audited by a trade show quality assurance program.
Distributor attendance at Columbus has decreased each year since its peak of 1,753 in 1995. The drop from 1,320 pre- and onsite registered distributors in 1999 to 910 this year was the sharpest decline.
Total Columbus attendance as reported by show management peaked in 1998 at 5,326.