Terrorism may hurt Comdex

Kevin Ferguson

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 10:49 a.m.

Comdex, the largest trade show in Las Vegas, may be hit by reduced attendance because of last week's terrorist strikes on the East Coast.

The nation's new fear of flying will be a factor, said Michael Hughes, director of research services for Los Angeles-based Tradeshow Week magazine.

"It would be a miracle if the show was up this year," Hughes said. Comdex/Fall, which is run by Los Angeles-based Key3Media Group Inc., typically draws more than 200,000 visitors to Las Vegas in mid-November.

This year's show runs Nov. 12-16, and will spread across four venues: the Sands Expo, the Venetian hotel-casino, the Las Vegas Convention Center and the MGM Grand Conference Center.

Kim Myhre, president of Comdex Worldwide, said his company expects some kind of impact. But he would not speculate on how much attendance will decline.

"We just don't know at this point," he said, noting that attendance expectations were reduced even prior to last week's tragic events because of the slump in the technology industry.

He said the same companies from years past were signing up, but planned to send fewer people as a result of travel budget cutbacks.

Last year's show generated an estimated $255 million in nongaming economic impact on Las Vegas, said the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

A survey of corporate travel managers conducted after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon found that 35 percent said they would recommend to their companies limiting future trips, the National Business Travel Association reported.

Hughes said he expects the meetings industry to bounce back in early 2002.

Myhre said before the terrorist strikes, Comdex was expecting "somewhere in the range of 200,000" attendees.

Last year Comdex attracted 210,000 visitors and about 2,300 exhibitors, Key3Media said.

Prior to the attacks, the company said it was expecting 2,100 exhibitors this year.

Myhre said Comdex organizers have not discussed offering lower prices or special deals to companies that may be on the verge of cancelling because of last week's events or the technology industry's woes.

"Comdex has gone through a (national economic) downturn before, and we continue to focus on adding more value to the show," Myhre said. "And if we do that, (our customers) will stay with us during the tough times and the good times.

"We have a strong brand and still have the leading vendors and keynoters, like (Microsoft Chairman) Bill Gates and (Cisco Systems Chairman) John Chambers."

Gates is scheduled to present the pre-convention keynote Nov. 11 in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. He spoke to a crowd of 12,000 visitors at last year's conference.

Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison is also scheduled to keynote Nov. 12.

Hughes said the fear-of-flying factor may not be too overwhelming to Comdex because many of the usual visitors are close enough to Las Vegas to use alternative transportation.

"Half of Comdex's attendance comes from California and Nevada, and so if they are afraid to fly, they can drive," Hughes said.

About 30,000 attendees last year came from foreign countries, Key3Media Group said.

"We were actually expecting a larger international presence than last year. (Comdex) is becoming a strong brand internationally," Myhre said.

But the terrorist strikes have left Comdex organizers unsure about the number of foreign attendees for this year's show, he said.