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Buyers impress exhibitors at EAS 2006
The Euro Attractions Show 2006 closed its doors on 5 February, 2006 with a positive buzz and good sentiment as exhibitors touted the high-quality and impressiveness of this year’s attendees and buyers.

“The motto and essence of this year’s EAS is clearly “outstanding quality”: We had quality attendees, quality buyers and a quality audience attending the seminars,” said Mats Wedin, CEO of Liseberg in Sweden and one of the speakers.

Held for three days between 3 February and 5 February, EAS 2006 welcomed almost 4,000 attendees from 66 countries to the Messe Wein Convention Centre in Vienna, Austria. Mild winter weather fostered a breath of freshness and excitement easily found on the tradeshow floor encompassing 220 exhibitors and more than 50 product categories in 7,100 net square meters of exhibition space. Dramatic increases were seen in attendees representing the Waterpark (up 62%), Theme Park (up 35%) and Family Entertainment Center (up 33%) contingencies. Attendees from Sir Lanka, Iran, Belarus, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were represented for the first time.

A big success was the educational program that saw hundreds of industry representatives and experts coming to the seminar halls, consequently significantly exceeding last year’s number of seminar attendees. Insightful keynote sessions and stimulating expert discussions on the state of the European amusement industry were offered.

“The educational program provided value added service – it meant that people not only saw an exceptional trade show floor, but also went home with industry insights that were discussed at the seminars and new contacts to colleagues from across the continent” commented Wedin.

Special events proved popular as well, including, a spectacular Friday night Welcome Reception hosting well over 1,000 attendees and, more than 650 guests at the fabulous Viennese Gala on Saturday evening. Guests were treated to two incredible evenings of dining, networking, and entertainment in typical Viennese style.

The show organizers look into a bright future of the amusement and attractions industry with an expected steady growth of 5% in Europe and the Middle East alone. “We are certain that the venue for the EAS in 2007 will bring a fresh perspective to the show with extra space for outdoor exhibits and another great European park in the near vicinity. We look forward to welcoming back the Showman, owners and operators, buyers and suppliers and more to a great EAS in Seville, Spain” says John Collins, EAS Board Member. Theodore Koumelis - Thursday, February 16, 2006