Despite an overall decline in attendance from 2008, WQA Aquatech USA held its own during the recession and brought in large numbers of attendees from the Midwest, eastern U.S. and Europe, final tallies show.
Attendance fell by 22% from last year, less than many tradeshows this year, said Peter Censky, executive director of the Water Quality Association (WQA). Many shows have seen drops of more than 60%, Censky said. The annual conference and trade show was held in Chicago (Rosemont), Illinois, in mid-March. Last year, the event was held in Las Vegas.
“Many people drove in from around the Midwest,” Censky said. “We saw that, nationally, many key decision makers also came, even from those regions where total attendance may have fallen off.”
Censky said that despite economic challenges, those in the industry realized the value of keeping abreast of new products and educational opportunities and the chance to do significant networking in one setting.
Photos of the event and leadership award winners are available at: www.wqa.org/2009Convention/index.cfm#.
Source: WQA
