by Herve Lalau
The 14th Vinexpo exhibition drew to a close this afternoon. Although logistical problems - including traffic - remained an issue, the weather was clement throughout the fair and the new lakeside stands gave the whole a more friendly
.face. 50,000 visitors attended the exhibition, an increase of 3% on 2005. While the majority of those came from France, one third were foreigners. Although the number of European visitors stable, the Scandinavian countries reached a record 400 visitors, most of them from Sweden, double the number at the last exhibition.
The Far East showed increased interest in Vinexpo, registering more than 2,000 participants. The number of visitors from China rose threefold to more than 400; Hong Kong alone doubled to more than 150. Koreans came back to Vinexpo in growing numbers with more than 350 visitors, double the number in 2005.
Growing interest was also seen from Eastern Europe. While more than 500 visitors attended from Russia, Poland and the Ukraine were represented by 110 and 100 respectively.
Visitors from North America continued to grow, reaching 1,500. South America was well represented, notably with a delegation of 100 buyers from Brazil. The Arab Emirates (Dubai) doubled their number to 50 compared with 2005.
Nearly 1,300 journalists visited the Press Centre, also a record.
