LAS VEGAS — Attendance at Clean ’07, held June 11-14 in Las Vegas, topped the previous show in Orlando, Fla., by more than 700 people, according to show organizer Riddle & Associates.A total of 14,667 people converged on the Las Vegas Convention Center for the world’s largest textile care exposition. Attendance at Clean ’05 was 13,951. Nearly 10,000 attendees came to see the new technologies and products showcased across 227,950 net square feet of exhibit space by 484 exhibiting companies.“Las Vegas continues to be a good venue for the Clean Show,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates. “Attendees seemed equally pleased with all they were able to see and learn.”Exhibit space was down by 900 net square feet from Clean ’05, and there were 27 fewer exhibiting companies. “This meant fewer companies, but many took larger spaces than at previous shows,” Riddle adds.International attendance was also up from Clean ’05. The show drew 1,948 international visitors from 82 countries. “This indicates that the Clean Show is truly recognized as an international exposition,” Riddle says. Clean ’05 drew 1,714 international visitors from 79 countries. Countries with 65 or more people attending Clean ’07 included Canada, 593; Mexico, 187; Japan, 154; Spain, 79; Australia and United Kingdom, 75 each; Italy, 74; and Germany, 68.Clean ’09 is scheduled for June 18-21, 2009, at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. “We are looking forward to another great show in New Orleans in 2009,” he says. “Having visited the city several times in the past few months, I think everyone will be pleased with the ‘new’ New Orleans. To be truthful, if you did not know storms had been there, with the exception of one hotel and some outlying neighborhoods, you couldn’t tell. New Orleans has hosted many successful trade shows since its recovery. Some have even broken attendance records.”With larger booths, greater utility requirements and higher freight weights, it’s harder to find places to hold the Clean Show, Riddle explains. “Twenty years ago there were several venues that could accommodate the show. Now we are limited to just three.”
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