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[October 2008]
Cersaie 2008 Report
Attendance at Cersaie in Bologna this year remained essentially stable while the percentage of foreign visitors and numbers of journalists increased. The available surface area and number of exhibitors reached record figures.
www.cersaie.it
Although the five days of this 26th edition of the show coincided with one of the most acute phases of the world financial and property market crises, the overall number of visitor figures remained more or less stable, confirming the importance of this event, said the organisers.
This edition of Cersaie boasted a record level of available space due to the new two-level hall 14-15 which increased the exhibit space by 20,000 square metres to a total of 176,000 square metres. Not only was this additional space fully booked several months in advance, it also allowed for participation by a record 1074 exhibitors from 34 different countries, including 230 from abroad.
The difficult economic situation clearly had an effect on the number of visitors. While confirming its status as the key international exhibition for ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings, Cersaie attracted a total of 84,537 visitors, 8% down on the record figure of 2007 which drew more than 90,000 visitors.
The categories that saw the most substantial falls were paying Italian visitors and Italian professionals, further evidencing the difficult domestic market situation. International attendance rose by a few percentage points to exceed 30% for the very first time.
The number of foreign visitors totalled 25,675, accounting for 32.3% of total professional attendees at the show. The event was also strongly attended by journalists: 662 compared to 642 at the 2007 show, including 365 Italians (+1.4%) and 297 non-Italians (+9.2%).
This strong participation was observed both at the meetings held by the companies and at the institutional events organised by Cersaie, which included the international press conference held on Tuesday 30 September in Palazzo Re Enzo in the presence of approximately 250 journalists.
The next Cersaie will be held in Bologna from 29 September to 3 October 2009.
ENDS