USA: IAAPA Expo 2022 Sees Solid Results
The four-day industry trade show event organized annually by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) and hosted in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando (FL) concluded yesterday, for the first time in three years without pandemic-related restrictions. A total of 1,077 exhibitors (2021: 878 exhibitors) showcased their products, technologies and projects at the world’s largest marketplace for rides, attractions and amusement systems, and 36,882 industry professionals (2021: 28,229; 2019: 42,600) attended this year’s IAAPA Expo (according to IAAPA’s official figures). Of those, 25,561 were registered as qualified “buyers” representing 11,869 companies.
“We set out this year to bring a fresh and innovative Expo experience to showcase the best of the attractions industry and we certainly accomplished that. We proudly welcomed more than 36,000 attendees, filled more than 518,000 square feet of exhibit space and presented more than 100 on-site educational sessions. The incredible speakers and content presented along with the largest trade show in the industry surely inspired all who attended,” said Michael Shelton, Executive Director and Vice President for IAAPA North America. Hal McEvoy, retiring President & CEO of IAAPA, added, “It has been wonderful to see the continued recovery of the global attractions industry. I’m proud of our team, partners, and volunteers for executing a great show in Orlando that benefits our members and our community.”
The supporting program for the trade show again included several charity events: In total, participating expo attendees raised more than USD 157,000 through the “19th Annual IAAPA International Charity Golf Tournament”, the “12th Annual IAAPA Charity Motorcycle Run” benefiting Give Kids the World, and the “16th Annual IAAPA Footprints From the Heart 5K Run/1-Mile Walk” benefiting Give Kids the World Village. There were 108 golfers, 23 motorcycle riders, and 401 runners who participated in the three events.
Furthermore, the winners of the “IAAPA Brass Ring Awards” and the “Thea Awards” (presented by the Themed Entertainment Association) were announced in the course of this week. Read in our Jan/Feb magazine issue (EAP 1/2023) which product innovations, technologies and concepts exhibitors presented during this year’s IAAPA Expo in Orlando and learn more about the highlights of the world’s largest industry event for leisure professionals! The next IAAPA Expo takes place from Nov 14-17, 2023 at Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. (eap)
