Gary Goddard of the
Goddard Group
Organisers also noted a 53 per cent increase in the number
WATERPARKS
of buyers from outside the US, including a 69 per cent increase in buyers from Europe and 106 per cent in those from Asia. As far as the exhibits themselves went, IAAPA’s figures
show that 1,074 companies participated in the trade show (1,154 in 2008), taking up a total of 405,000 net sq ft of space (482,550 in 2008) and as usual everything an operator might wish for and require could be found on display. Of course 12 months previously, much of the trade
show talk had centred round the economic slump as it was around that time that this was really starting to hit hard. Discussions then were very much about how the public’s leisure spend would be affected and how this would impact on parks and attractions; I had many a discussion about reduced travel and people staying closer to home as they tried to reign in their expenditure. And sure enough this proved to be the case during the 2009 season. Overseas vacations for many were put on hold as families decided to holiday at home (or at least closer to home) the outcome of which was that local and regional visitor attractions reaped the rewards, with visitor numbers holding up well and in many cases increasing. Certainly the general picture in Europe was one of a successful season while in the US, when the weather was good, numbers in parks were apparently good too. Many US parks did suffer from poor weather in 2009 though. Talking to numerous manufacturers and suppliers at the
show, however, the general tone was quite upbeat, with new products and projects being highlighted in many cases and company representatives reporting positive feedback from the event. “I felt that this year’s IAAPA show in Las Vegas was
one of the best in recent years,” noted Terry Monkton, managing director at UK company Simworx. “The quality of buyers was excellent and I received a record number of serious enquiries for the IAAPA show. We were helped by the publicity generated in the US market during 2009 about some of our recent projects and we found that many clients were ‘seeking us out’ because of this. We are already in contract negotiations with several clients having now returned to the UK.” Also reflecting on a good show was
ProSlide chief Rick Hunter, who commented: “Our feeling was that in the last year and a bit more the market had really tightened up globally. What was encouraging was that
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we could feel a lot more movement and energy worldwide. You can’t keep entrepreneurs down too long. They get edgy. We are entrepreneurs too and always want to do stuff and do new ideas. We had a good show and feel it was the best show for a couple of years. And winning the award was great. We actually booked some contracts at the show too which is unusual.
Newly elected IAAPA Chairman Chip Clearly (left) and past Chairman Rob Norris are caught by the InterPark camera during the trade show.
“There are some exciting things going on at the moment
in Europe and a lot of movement in Asia. For example Australia, China and Malaysia are very busy so things are moving.” At Sally Corp., Chairman and CEO John Wood was also
very positive. “The ‘buzz’ surrounding the IAAPA show was back this
year at Las Vegas! IAAPA is typically the most exciting marketing event in our industry. However, the last two years have been shrouded with doubts about the economy and industry as a whole. But the industry proved to be resilient to the economic situation and the developing nations and Asia came back with a vengeance at this year’s show. Our company had a busy schedule of appointments with serious and significant prospective buyers from all points around the globe. It was a great show with many new, exciting opportunities. “We felt that it was a very good show,” concurred Julie
Zakus, marketing manager at Whitewater West Industries. “Traffic to our ‘best’ booth was steady throughout the show (and we noticed) fewer international attendees than typically in Orlando, likely due to the additional travel required. We even sold the product that was on display at the show.”
Terry Monkton and Andy Roberts on the Simworx booth
SHOW REPORT
IAAPA 2009
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