Although the five days of the recent 26th edition of the Cersaie 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. The 2008 edition of Cersaie boasted a record level of available space due to a new two-level hall, which increased the exhibit space by 20,000 square meters to a total of 176,000 square meters. This additional space, which was fully booked several months in advance, allowed for participation by a record 1074 exhibitors from 34 different countries, including 230 from outside of Italy.

The difficult economic situation clearly had an effect on the number of visitors. Cersaie 2008 attracted a total of 84,537 visitors, 8% down from the record-setting 2007 event that 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 totaled 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 organized by Cersaie.

The next Cersaie will be held in Bologna, Italy, from September 29 to October 3, 2009. Visit www.cersaie.com for more information.

Links

• Cersaie