Oct. 9 – Preliminary attendance figures from the second annual Southern Trucking Expo, held earlier this month in Atlanta, show a 40% increase over last year, according to Independent Trade Show Management spokeswoman Sue Fena.
Registered guests totaled over 5,200. Total attendance, including exhibitors and nonqualified guests, was just over 8,000. This compares to barely 3,000 registered guests and about 5,000 total attendance last year, Fena says.
Although traffic at the show might have seemed a bit thin compared to some more established shows, Fena points out the show is showing good growth for being in its second year.
“Of course we would have liked to see a little more,” she says. “I would like to see 8,000 to 10,000 attendance, not counting exhibitor badges. I had one company that said they didn’t really see the people they wanted to see, but most exhibitors said they were writing orders.”
Two changes in the event this year may have helped boost attendance: free shuttle buses from nearby truckstops and a trucker appreciation barbecue. Fena reported both were very successful.