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  1. Production & Strategy
  2. Event Production & Fabrication

How the Attractions Expo Adapted to Attendees' Needs

By creating rooms for prayer and nursing mothers, the Attractions Expo demonstrates how a trade show can listen and respond to its audience.

Mitra Sorrells
November 21, 2013

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions is putting attendee feedback into action at its Attractions Expo, which fills nearly 530,000 square feet inside and outside the Orange County Convention Center through Friday. Organizers have created several new components this year and expanded others, in part due to survey results from last year.

“To keep people coming back you have to listen to them. You have to make the whole experience satisfying for them,” said Stacey Mills, the association’s director of conference and trade show operations. "The days of saying 'build it and they will come' are over; it’s a competitive market."

The show is the largest in the world for the $24 billion attractions industry, attracting 27,000 attendees from more than 100 countries. Based on requests from international guests, the association designated a room in the convention center for prayer and meditation this year. The room is inclusive and nondenominational, with a few rows of chairs and a table at the front. Organizers have publicized the room on the show Web site and in printed materials and are asking guests to sign in to track usage.

Another new space is a room for nursing mothers. “We get a lot of people that bring their entire families, from babies all the way up,” Mills said. "As a woman myself I thought that was something that was missing. We needed to offer that service so if they were in a situation where they were nursing or needed to go pump, that we would have that area designated for them so they wouldn’t need to use the restroom or go back to their hotel." Black drapes create four semiprivate cubicles in the room, each equipped with a chair, table, and electrical outlet. In the common area, a small refrigerator is available for storage.

This is the largest expo in 10 years with 80 educational sessions and nearly 1,100 exhibitors. Ten percent of those are first-time exhibitors, and based on survey results, organizers created a reception for them on Monday afternoon, the first day of the expo, in a lounge on the show floor. “We wanted them to meet some of the key staff as well as members of our manufacturers and suppliers committee, which is made up of other exhibitors who are leaders in our community, so these first-time exhibitors can ask questions, get advice, and feel welcomed,” Mills said.

To streamline check-in, organizers offer satellite registration areas in the Hilton Orlando and Hyatt Regency Orlando, the two main convention hotels, as well as in a third area near the outdoor exhibit space. Positive response from attendees last year prompted them to keep those locations open an extra day. Another change based on the survey results: mailing exhibitors their move-in wristbands to save time.

To encourage more attendees to complete post-event surveys, the association will offer incentives such as a drawing for a gift certificate or registration for next year’s expo.

Nearly 1,100 exhibitors have filled the Orange County Convention Center with rides, waterslides, novelties, food, technology, and more for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo. It's the association's largest show in 10 years.
Nearly 1,100 exhibitors have filled the Orange County Convention Center with rides, waterslides, novelties, food, technology, and more for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo. It's the association's largest show in 10 years.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
At nearly 80,000 square feet, the expo’s outdoor exhibit area is the largest in show history.
At nearly 80,000 square feet, the expo’s outdoor exhibit area is the largest in show history.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
Attendees include more than 17,000 buyers from amusement parks, entertainment centers, casinos, zoos, and resorts. Enclosed meeting rooms, such as a glass-walled space in the Falcon’s Treehouse booth (pictured), facilitate deals.
Attendees include more than 17,000 buyers from amusement parks, entertainment centers, casinos, zoos, and resorts. Enclosed meeting rooms, such as a glass-walled space in the Falcon’s Treehouse booth (pictured), facilitate deals.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
To help buyers navigate the large show floor, the association offers six two-hour tours grouped by theme, for example for exhibitors that provide inflatable products or for exhibitors that focus on water parks. Buyers pay a fee—$20 for association members and $30 for non-members—to participate.
To help buyers navigate the large show floor, the association offers six two-hour tours grouped by theme, for example for exhibitors that provide inflatable products or for exhibitors that focus on water parks. Buyers pay a fee—$20 for association members and $30 for non-members—to participate.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
Attendees walking in from the convention center parking lot could pick up their registration materials at a tent outside, alleviating congestion inside. Two additional registration counters were located in the nearby Hilton and Hyatt Regency hotels.
Attendees walking in from the convention center parking lot could pick up their registration materials at a tent outside, alleviating congestion inside. Two additional registration counters were located in the nearby Hilton and Hyatt Regency hotels.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
To provide a convenient, semi-private space for nursing mothers, organizers created four draped cubicles in one of the meeting rooms. Each space has a a table, a chair, and an electrical outlet.
To provide a convenient, semi-private space for nursing mothers, organizers created four draped cubicles in one of the meeting rooms. Each space has a a table, a chair, and an electrical outlet.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
A colorful lounge in the middle of the show floor provides information about I.A.A.P.A. services, Internet access, meeting space, and the exhibitor service desk. The lounge also hosted a reception for first-time exhibitors Monday afternoon.
A colorful lounge in the middle of the show floor provides information about I.A.A.P.A. services, Internet access, meeting space, and the exhibitor service desk. The lounge also hosted a reception for first-time exhibitors Monday afternoon.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
New this year, the association offered a discount to exhibitors that also participated in its shows in Asia and Europe. Organizers said about 12 percent of the exhibitors qualified for the “Global Exhibitor” discount.
New this year, the association offered a discount to exhibitors that also participated in its shows in Asia and Europe. Organizers said about 12 percent of the exhibitors qualified for the “Global Exhibitor” discount.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
Many of the products on display are interactive, such as the 21-foot Zero Shock free-fall jump.
Many of the products on display are interactive, such as the 21-foot Zero Shock free-fall jump.
Photo: Claire Pacelli for BizBash
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