While exhibitor figures indicate a “record event”, the same does not apply for visitors, at least in terms of numbers.
The 21st edition of Xylexpo NEW (www.xylexpo.com), held at the FieraMilano-Rho exhibition center from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 May, reflected the situation of global markets, attracting 81,980 visitors, 12.1 percent less than in 2006. The reduction equally affected visitors from Italy (39,466 visitors, 12.5 percent less than in al 2006) and from abroad (42,514, 11.4 percent below the previous event). It must be underlined that, once again, Xylexpo NEW has been characterized by a high share of international operators, amounting to 51.8 percent of total attendance (51.5 in 2006).
Waiting for a more accurate analysis of data for further considerations (final figures will be communicated during the next weeks), the general mood of the industry seems clearly optimistic, as witnessed by the fact that 853 exhibitors (804 in 2006; 284 from 38 countries, the all-time record of the exhibition) who decided to be at Xylexpo NEW, covering 75,675 square meters of exhibition surface (73,200 in the past edition).
