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In light of the economy, no one knew what to expect at the convention that was named one of the top four medical trade show of 2008 by Expo magazine last year.  Attendance was down only 9% at the Chicago Midwinter Conference held Feb 26- Mar 1 this year. Some courses were sold out and many were near capacity, and 90% of the 570 vendors say they will return next year. Here’s the breakdown on attendees and vendors, as well as a preview of changes you can expect at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting in 2010.

Attendees

Overall attendance fell 9%
This drop was dentists dropped 7%, hygienists 8%
About 7 K dentists attended
About 4K hygienists
About 3.5K assistants
About 2.5K admin staff
Other professionals were techs, students, and industry mfgs and distributors
Last year’s attendance of more than 31K was the highest in the show’s 144 years
240 courses offered; 25% sold out
A 26% drop in international attendance, with Canada first, then UK, Mexico, Germany, and Japan
States most heavily reperesented were in the Illinois area

Vendors

570 companies
82% generated new business
32% said the meeting was as good as others in the past 12 months
90% will return in 2010
73% will keep same booth size; 10% will expand booth size

Changes & Plans for 2010

New venue… Next year, the Chicago Midwinter Meeting will move to the west building of McCormick Place. All exhibits and courses will be in one building.

Shorter time… Next year’s meeting will be only three days, Thursday through Saturday. This will reduce the cost of attending the show.

Dates… February 25-27, 2010.

Be sure to keep in touch with what the Chicago Dental Society is up to at their website, www.cds.org, and the cool new blog, Open Wide.

SOURCE: Townie Central Press Release