It's the new year, so the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is back for 2011, returning to Las Vegas from Thursday January 6 through Sunday January 9, 2011.
The show is produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which reports that CES continues to be the world's largest consumer technology tradeshow, and the largest tradeshow of any kind in North America.
Last year's CES had over 126,000 attendees, growing from the low of 113,000 in 2009, but not back to the peak of over 140,000 in 2007 - 2008 -- which seriously packed the facilities and transportation in Vegas.
The number of exhibitors looks to be holding steady at around 2,500, with growing presence from non-U.S. companies -- all spread out over an area larger than 35 (American) football fields.
There are also over 20 TechZones grouping new technology markets. The fastest growing TechZone is the iLounge Pavilion, with third-party accessories and software for the Apple iPod, iPhone, iPad and Macintosh.
As in previous years, the gadget blogs and tech publications will be out in force at CES, with teams live blogging the new announcements for hot-off-the-press coverage. I'll update my annual summary document with links to these sources and other coverage of the show.
See my 2011 International CES Summary article for information on the show, facilities, Las Vegas, exhibits, conference program, and press events -- plus links to more information and press / blog coverage.
Fun Vegas stats:
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports that Vegas had 4.5 million convention visitors in 2009, generating $4.5B non-gaming revenue.
Vegas continued as the #1 trade show destination in North America, with around 20,000 meetings and conventions annually.
Vegas hosted 45 of the 200 largest shows, with a total of 19M net sq. ft. of exhibition space. The next two cites were Chicago with 25 shows and 7.5 M sq. ft., and Orlando with 18 shows and 5.3M sq. ft.
Vegas hosted 6 of the top 10 shows, with CES, World of Concrete, International Builders, ReCon, NAB, and World Shoes+Accessories (WSA).
Vegas has some 149,000 hotel/motel rooms, up from 133,000 in 2007. The average room rate was $93 in 2009, down from $119 in 2008. Hotel occupancy was 81.5% in 2009, down from 94.0% in 2007, but significantly better than the U.S. rate of 55.1%, down from 63.2% in 2007.