Attendance records from last month's National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show offer some good news not only for the convention planners but for the industry overall as operators are apparently gearing up for the economic recovery. A post-event review and analysis of the 91st annual NRA Show and the International Wine, Spirits and Beer Event (IWSB) confirms that attendance increased in 2010.
The number of attendees (i.e. total registration minus exhibitor personnel) was 42,057 in 2010, compared with 37,818 in 2009 – an increase of 11.21 percent. Attendees hailed from 115 countries this year, compared with 107 in 2009, an increase of 7 percent.
Total registration in 2010 increased by 8.58 percent over last year, totaling 57,892 compared with 53,319 in 2009.
Despite the 2010 increase, attendance was still significantly lower than the estimated 71,000 reported in 2008, no doubt, an indication that the economy is still having an impact on operations.
Still the mood was buoyed by indicators that consumer confidence is increasing and they are returning to dining out, as Dawn Sweeney pointed out in an interview from the show floor. (Click here to view the video.)
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"While challenges are still there, the industry is working through, and we are creating an environment where more and more customers are going out to eat," she said in the interview.
The NRA Show 2011 will be held May 21-24 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. The 2011 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event will be held May 22-23.
During the show, a local news station reported on speculation that the event might not return to McCormick Place if Governor Pat Quinn did not sign legislation designed to reform convention labor rules. Quinn vetoed the bill on May 26, but it was immediately overriden by the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law May 27.
As outlined in the legislation, the new law establishes an 18-month period to develop and implement significant reforms intended to reduce exhibition costs. The legislation covers the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), which owns and operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier.
For the past 61 years, the NRA Show has called Chicago home. The show contributes to the city a large portion of the $251 million in tax revenue generated annually by meetings and conventions held at McCormick Place. And in total, annual meeting and convention goers spend close to $8 billion in the state.
