ATLANTA
The Center for Association Leadership (ASAE), which is currently hosting its Annual Conference at the Global World Congress Center in Atlanta, has seen its highest executive attendance since 2008, according to President and CEO John Graham.
Graham announced at a Monday press conference that nearly 5,100 attendees were on hand for the big show, including 2,896 association execs; 692 booths represented 409 companies, and the buyer-to-seller ratio was 62/38.
Twenty-four percent of attendees were experiencing their first ASAE show, and 66 percent of attendees hadn’t been to Atlanta in the last 15 years.
Graham also announced that the association had recently drafted protocol for conference planners to use when inviting federal employees to events, due to the “dark cloud over federal employee travel.” The protocol was submitted to the federal Office of Management and Budget, which is involved in financial oversight of federal meetings budgets; Graham reported that the OMB has adopted many of the protocol’s best practices.
In other ASAE news, the association will be releasing a data-rich report this fall on Emerging Trends in Trade Shows, created in conjunction with Cornell University.
More information on this year's annual meeting can be found on the related ASAE website.
