The organiser of the Outdoor Trade Show and Stoneleigh Tent Show has announced plans to merge the two exhibitions together and in a new time slot from 2012.
 
The Outdoor Trade Show (OTS) has been held at Stoneleigh Park for the past six years and is now on from 26 to 28 September. The 2010 event was attended by 1,427 visitors and attracted 132 exhibitors.
 
The annual Stoneleigh Tent Show meanwhile, was last held at Stoneleigh Park from 4 to 8 September and has been an invite-only throughout its 10-year history. Both are organised by PR and marketing services agency Media Contact Services (MCS).
 
The newly merged exhibition will launch at Stoneleigh as a four-day event from 10 to 13 September 2012, giving retailers more time to browse through the two exhibition halls and outdoor tent area, the organisers said. The decision was prompted by a visitor and exhibitor survey that showed 80 per cent of retailers and manufacturers would prefer to visit a joint exhibition held in the first two weeks of September. Key reasons cited were the expense of attending two events and the time away from the office.
 
MCS said the outside grass areas will be exclusively reserved for tents with all other outdoor accessory products being displayed within the exhibition halls.
 
“We are very pleased to announce that the two shows will unite in 2012, ending a few years of debate within the industry and solving the problem of OTS exhibitors wishing to display tents,” OTS and Tent Show organisers Marta Williams and Alasdair Scobbie said. “Both shows are organised with the needs of retailers in mind and we are delighted to be able to move forward with one show that will tick all the boxes in terms of location, timing and convenience.
 
Scobbie claimed the new show will be the largest outdoor trade event in the UK.
 
“Many of our exhibitors have both outdoor products and tents, and there’s a strong crossover in visitors, so this merger makes sense in terms of economies of scale and economic considerations,” he told EN. “Anyone can exhibit and attend the merged exhibition, which is in the trade’s best interest.”
 
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