Event attendance grew 4.4 percent in the first six months of 2005 according to the Conferon Global Services (CGS) Trade Show/Convention Attendance Index.

This represents more than 100 events that collectively attracted in excess of 1.2 million attendees.

“Second quarter improvement of 4.5% mirrors the results of the first three months of the year when attendance grew 4.24 percent,” said Bruce Harris, President, CGS. “It is continuing evidence of the positive ROI of convention and trade show attendance.”

Indications are that the annual 2005 attendance increases could nearly double the annual increases of 2.2 percent in 2003 and 2.7 percent in 2004, according to the report.

“Given the strength of the economy, we expect the positive trend to continue throughout the year,” added Harris. “And while it is too early to forecast with certainty, we anticipate attendance will continue to grow in 2006.”

The January-to-June 2005 report measures events that have occurred annually since 2002. Introduced this year, CGS releases the Trade Show/Convention Attendance Index on a quarterly basis.