Continued faith in the unique and enduring qualities of Harrogate as a key destination for large exhibitions and conferences was amply demonstrated last week at International Confex with the signing of contracts for a further three years by Clarion Events and Harrogate International Centre, (HIC), for one of the UK’s largest trade gift shows, Home & Gift, Harrogate.
This three-year deal enables exhibitors and visitors to the Fair to plan well ahead and enables Clarion to plan with equal confidence.
The Fair, which has been running for 48 years, has established itself as the industry’s favourite trade show. Perfectly timed in July buyers are ready to place big orders for the festive season and actively source new-season stock. Over 900 suppliers of gift, home and fashion products exhibit across seven diverse product areas attracting over 11,000 visitors each year to this four-day show.
HIC Director, Stuart Quin, said, “This is great news because this is such an important trade fair and Home & Gift’s visitors can now plan their annual events schedule around these dates. The combination of social and networking events that take place each year creates a real buzz of activity in the town and local traders too will welcome the securing of this prestigious show.”
75% of exhibitors at the 2008 show rebooked their place for this year’s show, proving how important the show is for their business and clearly demonstrating faith not only in Harrogate as a venue, but in the overall economic outlook despite wider often gloomy news.
Nine out of ten buyers reported that the most important reason for attending the show is to buy new products and look for new suppliers. Last year’s show saw 71% of visitors buying for Christmas 2008 to an estimated spend of £80m.
Clarion Events Show Director, Joanna Bush, said, “The Harrogate International Centre has hosted Home & Gift for over 40 years in which time the venue has shown great creativity and flair in providing us with the platform to continually take the event forward. I am extremely grateful to Stuart Quin and his team for working so hard with us and making this possible. Their winning approach makes them an integral part of our team and we are pleased to confirm our commitment to continue working with them into 2011.”
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