StarCite Blog Space

We've just witnessed an important positive indicator in the convention and exhibition business and thankfully it benefited Las Vegas, a destination hurt by a double whammy of negative public perception and the economy.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which closed on January 10th in Las Vegas, is the largest annual trade show in North America, and it attracted more than 120,000 attendees this year – which is significantly up from 113,000 attendees last year, according to an article in The Economist.

While that's certainly good news, even better is an assessment by The Economist that CES's success bodes well for face-to-face meetings. The article quotes Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association, noting that there is little demand for virtual shows even in the consumer-electronics industry, folks you would think should be pretty comfortable with interacting online. Yet, "people still want hands-on experience of the gadgets they might soon be buying, and like to press the flesh with customers and suppliers," says the article.  It is at CES where the latest and greatest future technology is unveiled.  The advance buzz of future products has historically boosted sales in a very profitable way for the companies who invested in attending and showcasing their wares.

But how green are these giant exhibitions?  Isn't it better to save at least some of that expended energy and CO2 emissions and move towards more online showcasing?  I'm all for creating green meetings, and that can be done in many ways, for example, e-sourcing for hotels and convention centers that practice recycling. And, yes, virtual events are sometimes good green options.

But it turns out that CES attendees have an average of 12 different meetings with customers, suppliers and partners while at the show, according to Shapiro's data. And if attendees had to make those trips separately, it would amount to 1 billion miles of travel -- which translates to a lot of CO2 emissions.

My point is this, sometimes, in order to make the right decision about whether to go virtual or face-to-face, you have to consider metrics like these.

While CES is only one show, its size makes it important because our industry tends to sit up and take notice of it. I'm glad to see that attendance was higher this year and that it continues to be a visible example of the value of face-to-face meetings as well as a rebounding economy.