Visitor numbers take off
50,433 is the nal number of professional visitors who attended Vinexpo 2007, up 3.1% compared to Vinexpo 2005. 33% of visitors from outside France is an absolute record and makes Vinexpo one of the leading exhibitions in the world.
Naturally, France represented 2/3 of the total number of visitors. The next largest numbers of visitors came from the historic markets, namely Germany (up 10.10%), Belgium (up 9.97%), the Netherlands (up 10%) and UK (up 5.51%), which were all represented in the same relative proportions as in 2005.
More visitors came from Northern Europe: Sweden reached 428 visitors, an increase of 14%. In total, more than 9,400 visitors came from the European Union excluding France.
As was expected, many more Asian visitors attended than in 2005, totalling almost 2,100. There were two and a half times more Chinese visitors than in 2005, while the number of attendees from Hong Kong and Korea was multiplied by two. Visitors from India and Singapore increased by 50%, while numbers from the other Asian countries remained stable.
The major mergers in the North American distribution sector did not adversely impact visitor numbers with more than 1,600 attending, of which two thirds were American and the rest Canadian, a total 7.2% higher than in 2005.
Russia and Ukraine were represented by 506 and 112 visitors respectively, showing a growing interest in the industry, which is shared by the other countries in this region, who all sent higher numbers of visitors.
Finally, it should be noted that South America was handsomely represented, especially with a delegation of 114 buyers from Brazil. And the Emirates doubled its number of visitors (55) compared to 2005.
An exhibition that met its visitors’ expectations
« Vinexpo is an opportunity to see existing people in one place to discuss new projects or to discover new products. Still very much work in progress but watch this space! »
Chris Murphy, Wine Buyer of Marks & Spencer Wine Direct – UK
« ASC Fine Wines brought 5 people to the show and it was very productive as we were able to see not fewer than 30 of our suppliers and meet a number of new potential suppliers. »
Don St Pierre Jr, Chairman of ASC Fine Wines – Mainland China
« Vinexpo is more than just an exhibition, it is an overall picture of the industry and development strategies for the years to come ».
Alissa Kondratova, Svarog – Russia
