Trade Show InsightsNews, tips & tools to expand your knowledge of exhibiting

With this being a holiday week in the U.S., exhibit industry news was light. The top story is that just one year after Freeman acquired Fern Exposition & Event Services, they’ve now announced that they’re selling it to Fern’s COO, Aaron Bludworth and an investment group. Freeman states that the move is “in the interest of both companies.”

Colorado has been in the news extensively the past couple of weeks due to wildfires, but this week several attractions reopened, including the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Several hotels that were evacuated have also reopened, while others are still being used for people who have been evacuated from their homes.

If the U.S. wants to maintain economic growth, the key is to get more international buyers and sellers attending our trade shows. That’s the platform Steven Hacker, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), presented at a conference focused on how to increase tourism and business travel while protecting homeland security. Citing data from a 2011 Oxford Economics study, Hacker said that removing visa obstacles for both exhibitors and attendees coming from other countries would increase sales at U.S. trade shows by $2.6 billion.