Drop in Visitor-numbers for Interbike

LAS VEGAS, US - The organizers of the Interbike Show, which was held end of September, recently announced the number of visitors for the 2005 event. And what was already expected did indeed happen. The fact that Trek decided to 'go on their own' had a big impact. The market leader in the American IBD sector held their own dealershow (which was well attended) previous to Interbike. The result: a drop in the visitors numbers below the 20,000 mark. To be exact; 19,300 retailers, distributors, manufacturers and media from around the globe travelled to the US annual trade show. In 2004 this number stood at 21,000 which means that the 2005 event scored a 8% drop in the number of visitors. What was also noticeable at this year's Interbike was the drop in the number of visitors from South American countries, which has to do with the growing competition Interbike is faced with from the Shanghai Show. The buyers from South American bike makers or distributors are in particular looking for cheap components which they find in abundance in Shanghai. The 2005 Interbike (including the Outdoor Demo Days) itself was a big success. The event wasn't fully booked but came close. "Exhibit space was 99% sold out and we had the largest product exhibition in the history of the show. With that Interbike 2005 was one of the best in the history of the show," said Show Director Lance Camisasca. (JO)