Attendance at the 2015 GAMA Trade Show in Las Vegas last week was up over 2015, leading GAMA Executive Director John Ward to declare it “the best GAMA Trade Show in the last 10 years.”  The show registered 1462 attendees in 2016, up from just over 1400 in 2015 (see “Attendance Tops 1400 at GAMA Trade Show”).  As has been the case for several years, the exhibit hall was sold out.

The number of stores represented grew around 8% from 2015, making back a drop of around the same size last year.  But the number of retailer badges, at 613, was down from the 682 issued two years ago in 2014 (see “Over 1300 at GAMA Trade Show”), the last time a number was released.

How is attendance going up as retailer attendance flags?  One group that’s growing is attendees from outside the U.S.; international attendees were up 8.8% this year, according to GAMA. 

The mood at the show was positive, according to Ward.  “The energy level was very high on the floor, in the seminars, and during the manufacturer presentations,” he said.  “It seemed that members at all levels were very pleased with the programming and networking this year.”