CES as an Economic Indicator

Many people who travel the global consumer and electronics show circuit believe that CES, CeBIT Germany, Computex, Gitex Dubai, etc... experienced a bit of a dip in attendance and exhibitors over the past 2 years. This is based on their impressions as they wondered around exhibition halls with the odd empty booth, increased numbers of companies choosing to exhibit in suites rather than booths and of course, speaking to others who didn't have funds/sponsorship to attend due to reduced budgets and the economic crisis.

Well if CES is any indicator of the economy we can say that we have passed rock bottom and are heading into a recovery; traffic, taxis, quality of booths and the number of international attendees are definitely up in my opinion. The ratio of international to domestic media that seems to be the consensus from my discussions with media, partners and friends is around 60% international to 40% local. Certainly from an international marketing perspective, participation in CES like events in 2010 is an excellent way to reach our media targets. My flights and accommodation at CeBIT have already been booked!

Hope to see you there.