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SPONSORED BY more buyer visits, which exhibitors said led to more-relaxed and meaningful meetings," he said. Hometown Crowd EXHIBITOR 2012 hosted the trade show industry in its perennial home in Las Vegas, and the choice of venue once again paid off. Exhibitor Media Group reported an 11.3% increase in the number of exhibi- tors and a 13.8% hike in exhibit space to 59,480 nsf, which was chalked up to the large number of exhibiting companies with operations in Las Vegas and the equally high percentage of corporate exhibitors who exhibit in Las Vegas trade shows. Tere was a high level of optimism before the doors at Mandalay Bay opened due to the 54 new exhibitors that were signed up and a 12% increase in preshow registration by attendees. Lee Knight, president of Exhibitor Media Group, said the strong showing at EXHIBITOR 2012 could be a harbinger of good things for Las Vegas and the exhibi- tion industry as a whole. "Roughly 23% of our buyers exhibit more than five times a year in Las Vegas," he said. "So when buyers come to EXHIBITOR, you know they will be back." Vibrant Vegas Even with the rosy prospects, Las Vegas has already been going strong. Te city was again the top venue for Dashboard shows. Las Vegas hosted five of the March shows surveyed totaling 1,052,130 nsf. Te total included ASD Las Vegas, which was on the Gold 100 and Fastest 50 and reported a 4.6% increase in exhibit space to 673,050 nsf. Chicago placed second with two shows totaling 921,850 nsf. Te MATS was big enough to haul Louisville into third place with 825,818 nsf. Next Month Spring arrived with some significant trade shows on the calendar that will be prominent in the next Dashboard. High Point Market Spring will be open for business in North Carolina's furniture country and Chicago will be the site of the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference. Te oil Mecca of Houston will host Offshore Technology Conference, which has grown in conjunction with the growth of the international oil sector as has the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Conference & Exhibition in Long Beach. TSE Hands On. The number of exhibitors in March grew 3.9% with companies offering the latest in exotic technology like the touch screens at Exhibitor 2012 (top, right) or the newest ways to whip up traditional dishes as seen at the Interna- tional Home + Housewares Show (left). www.TradeShowExecutive.com | May 2012 29