Past experience suggests that golf shows on America’s West Coast never attract as many buyers as those held in Florida and the Golf Industry Show 2010 did not buck that trend.
The trade show, one of the largest in North America, has an emphasis upon product innovation and is designed for the owners/operators of golf facilities and the professional members of their golf course and club management teams.
At 7,029 the number of qualified buyers walking the aisles of the San Diego Conference Centre marginally eclipsed the 7,012 who attended in New Orleans last year. The big difference was that this year the Show lasted two days instead of three.
With 665 exhibitors to visit, there was plenty of walking to be done and no time to lose since the organisers had cut the length of the exhibition from three days to two. The rationale behind this decision was summed up in the mantra: “Two Days. One Focus. Success.”
The Golf Industry Show is presented by the GCSAA, the NGCOA and the CMAA. All the sponsors take the opportunity to run their annual education conferences alongside the Industry Show.
By cutting the exhibition opening days from three to two the organisers hoped that there would be virtually no competing events to distract from exhibition attendance. Feedback thus far suggests that this policy was successful. This should also have resulted in exhibitors being able to cut the costs of their attendance at the show.
Perhaps one adverse impact of the shorter opening period, however, was a reduction in the number of exhibitors and trade visitors from overseas. San Diego is a delightful venue but it is a long way from Europe and, with no direct transatlantic flights, a tiring journey for a relatively short stay. However visitors from the Asia Pacific region were there in abundance.
James Arrowsmith from Econoplas Ltd was attending his first Golf Industry Show and paid tribute to the support that his company had received from the UK Trade and Investment schemes for exporters. For legal reasons the product made by his company is known as ‘Ezidrain’ www.ezidrain.com in the USA but ‘Aquadyne’ www.econoplas.co.uk everywhere else.
“It was definitely worth our while attending,” he said. “It looks as though we have found distributors not only for the USA and Canada but also, potentially, Australia, Hong Kong/Singapore, Korea and New Zealand.”
Next year the Golf Industry Show is back in Orlando 9-10 February. A bigger attendance is confidently predicted not just from within the United States but internationally as well. This should attract some new exhibitors and for British companies there is already good news. Debbie Dale from the trade association AEA told GBN that the UK Trade and Investment scheme would provide support to exhibitors at GIS in Orlando 2011. To obtain further information contact her at export@aea.uk.com
Golf Industry Show www.golfindustryshow.com