Clarion Events says it is pleased with visitor turnout to its annual London Destinations Show at Earls Court despite reporting a 42 per cent drop in last-day attendance.
 
The organiser blamed the significant Sunday attendance drop on heavy snowfall and wintry conditions in the capital, and the national press’ advice to the public to only travel if absolutely necessary. Total visitors to the show ended up at 32,293, down 12 per cent year-on-year and exhibitors totalled 310. The Destinations Show ran from 2 to 5 February.
 
“We’d had a strong gate up until this point and were pleased attendance was running slightly above last year’s figures,” head of sales Rob Debenham said. “I’m happy to report those intrepid and dedicated consumers who battled through the wintry conditions on Sunday were indeed of the highest quality.”
 
Debenham said the organiser and exhibitors pulled together with a real “blitz spirit”.
 
“The team rallied around and after contacting all the suppliers of feature content and experts, we were able to present the full list of attractions as advertised,” he continued. “It ended up being a real example of quality over quantity and we managed to realise a great sense of achievement for visitors and exhibitors alike.”
 
Clarion also reported onsite rebookings surpassed previous years, with the majority of core market-leading brands sign up again for its 2013 show.

The London Destinations show followed Clarion’s inaugural Destinations Manchester event at EventCity by Trafford Park in January, which attracted 22,000 visitors. The northern show replaced the organiser’s Birmingham edition and will return to EventCity from 17 to 20 January 2013.

Debenham expected the second Manchester event to be significantly larger with exhibitors increasing from 80 to 150.

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