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On the final day of the world's biggest international wine et spirits exhibition, Vinexpo, the results are more positive than expected.
Estimated visitor numbers are up by 5 % on 2003 and there has been a record number of non-French visitors, estimated at 30 % of the total number.
VISITOR NUMBERS
At the close of the 4th day, Vinexpo registered 43,600 trade visitors. The estimated figure for the final day of the show is 5-6,000 extra visitors which means that the total estimated number of visitors to the show this year is 49,000 - 3-5 % more than in 2003. Among the 43,600 visitors who attended Vinexpo on Sunday 19th-Wednesday 22nd June, 32 % came from outside France, bringing the final proportion of foreign visitors to 30 % of the total.
The majority of visitors (73 % ) came from Europe. The biggest increases in foreign visitor numbers were from Finland (+54 % ), followed by Germany (+15 % ) and Switzerland (+10 % ). 1,450 visitors from Asia were registered up to the 22nd June. Estimates for the last day are 1,500 more visitors, i.e. an increase of 36 % on 2003. Among visiting countries from Asia, the biggest increase came from Taiwan, up 150 % on 2003, followed by China up by 101 % on 2003 and India, up by 40 % on 2003.
Final visitor numbers from North America, where distribution is increasingly concentrated, were stable in comparison to the last Vinexpo at 1,500.
There has been a sizeable increase in visitors from Central and Eastern Europe - up by 57 % in comparison to 2003 at 1,100 visitors. Russian visitor numbers were up by 73 % .
1,200 members of the 'Club Vinexpo', all top wine et spirit buyers, were registered up till the 22nd June. This figure is expected to reach 1,500. This equates to one third of the world's leading buyers selected by Vinexpo and is an increase of 26 % on 2003.
Last, but not least, the press. Up to Wednesday 22nd June, 1,156 journalists had visited the Vinexpo press centre - the same number registered at the end of the 2003 show. The final number of journalists at the end of this year's event is expected to reach 1,250.
The new layout of the exhibition, with a larger Hall 3 (7,000 sq m bigger than Hall 3 two years ago), wider aisles, the creation of The Avenue, a spacious area which has divided the vast Hall 1 in two, has led to better traffic flow for visitors and to the false impression, countered by the figures, that visitor numbers are down. Vinexpo is eager to point out that the 41,000 sq m of exhibition space will never be extended.
Future Vinexpo Exhibitions:
Vinexpo Asia Pacific - 23rd -25th May 2006
14th Vinexpo, Bordeaux - June 2007
Written By: Edited and Posted by GOW Staff
