MILAN, Italy (BRAIN)—The numbers are in. And according to EICMA’s tabulations, almost 60,000 trade visitors strolled the halls of the Fiera Milano during the motorcycle and bicycle show, Nov. 6-11. Of those, 4,638 were visiting the bicycle portion of the show; and of that number, some 1,335 came from foreign countries.
"EICMA bicycle 2007 perfectly met our forecast. We knew some exhibitors, some very important ones, too, were not coming because they didn't approve of the date in November,” said Costantino Ruggiero, the show’s manager. “And we did know that this negative aspect would be compensated by Bikes4show, an absolutely innovative enterprise that had a huge success.
“We are very satisfied because 65 percent of exhibitors were thrilled because the number of visitors increased, and the number of trade visitors, too, especially of foreign trade visitors,” he added.
EICMA occupied more than 79,000 square meters of net exhibit space, with the motorcycle show taking up 68,833 of that and the bicycle show the remaining 10,822 square meters. Bicycle brands numbered 452. Total attendance, including consumers, reached 535,000.
Ruggiero said having Paolo Bettini and other well-known racers participate in Bikes4show attracted more media than ever before. Organizers tallied 2,812 registered journalists.
“Now we have to think about what to do in 2008,” Ruggiero said. “The exhibitors that participated in EICMA 2007, in particular Colnago, Campagnolo, Shimano, Vittoria and De Rosa, want to maintain this formula (November, with the velodrome, and being simultaneously held with the motorcycle show). Obviously, we would like to get back some exhibitors that were not present this year."
In 2008, EICMA’s motorcycle show is scheduled for Nov. 4-9, however, whether the bicycle show will be held at the same time has not been decided.
—Lynette Carpiet
