The United States claimed the biggest international representation of attendees at January's ICE show in London, according to data released by exhibition organisers, ATE. Stateside attendees numbered 383 (355 in 2004), edging Spain into second place with 372 (386). The remaining top ten international placings were Austria 364 (356), Netherlands 331 (332), Germany 324 (343), Slovenia 285 (239), Sweden 262 (197), France 244 (164), Russian Federation 233 (174) and Italy 206 (179). Of the international top ten, seven recorded year-on-year increases with France (+48.8%), Russian Federation (+33.9%) and Sweden (+33.0%) registering the biggest growth in attendance by nation. Host nation, the United Kingdom, claimed the single biggest attendance with 3,836 industry professionals, a growth of 31.4 per cent on the 2004 figure. A phenomenal 36 countries recorded their highest ever ICE representation at the 2005 show. The 2005 edition confirmed the International Casino Exhibition as the most cosmopolitan event of its kind with a record 102 jurisdictions represented on the show floor. The British Virgin Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Malawi, Moldova, Nepal and Riunion were represented for the very first time. The regional breakdown of attendees reveals across-the-board increases for both short- and long-haul visitors. South-East Asia provided the biggest increase (+87.3%), followed by the Middle East & North Africa (+82.5%) and South & Central Africa (+57.8%). The full geographical breakdown comprises Scandinavia (+47.3%), Oceania (+46.8%), Baltic States (+34.8%), UK (+31.4%), Balkans and South East Europe (+27.9%), Eastern Europe (+25.8%), CIS (+23.8%), Asia (+13.3%), South & Central America (+10.2%), Western Europe (+7.6%) and North America (+7.2%).
Reflecting on the data, ATE's Marketing & Commercial Director, Julian Graves said, "These figures are the result of a great collective effort from the organising team and the ICE exhibitors. Undoubtedly the prospects of new gambling legislation in the UK played its part, but, more significantly, I believe that ICE has earned the reputation it enjoys throughout the world as the place to see new product and to network. Evidence of this is that four of the top five biggest percentage increases are from geographical regions which can be categorised as long-haul. Our job is to now focus on next year by building on the show's strengths, addressing areas which we feel it could be improved and to concentrate on developing new opportunities for our stakeholders, both exhibitors and visitors." Next year's
ICE takes place at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, UK on 24-26 January 2006.
All figures quoted are subject to verification by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC).
