Most of the people (exhibitors) whom I spoke with - overall thought the show was successful. It may not have been packed with people attending, but the buyers were there, and they were quality buyers.
Several exhibitors focused on being there period; as opposed to having 20 booths, and spending more than $100k in a presence - especially in a "tough economy"
I saw it mentioned that DUI and Dive Rite were not in attendance. They had planned to not attend early this year. From what I understand; they feel that they can communicate with their network of shops effectively enough via the internet and other communication methods, that they don't necessarily need to be at an industry show, but rather focus on consumer shows.
I haven't been to any other (non-scuba) trade shows in a few years, but I used to be a buyer for a gift shop. We stopped attending large trade shows almost 5 years ago for that industry, because of the expense of going to a show; where I could see new products, gifts, etc, via the internet. If I can effectively buy for my store without going to a show... then why go?
I wonder if other trade shows have also seen a drop off in attendance as of late, due to these factors. I wonder if the phenomenon is not specific to DEMA show, but rather to trade shows as a whole?
At the end of the day however, the DEMA show IMO served its purpose as a trade show. If the purpose of a trade show is for industry insiders to meet, greet, place orders, and network. With that said, then this show was a success. Personally, it seemed as though the lower attendance made it easier for most exhibitors to actually have conversations with the people who wanted to talk to them.
I know I'll personally be at DEMA Show 2010 in Las Vegas.