The Taipei International Cycle Show is standing firm against the economic downturn. According to Walter Yeh, show organiser and Vice President of the Taiwan Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the 2009 show, to be held in March, has already seen bookings grow on last year’s event. In addition, the Nangang venue that is hosting the Taipei Cycle event, is already fully booked up.
The 2009 Taipei International Cycle Show will host 770 national and international exhibitors in a 52,000 square metre venue. Held between 17 March to 20 March 2009 – over 60,000 visitors are expected: comprised of 5,000 trade visitors and 55,000 consumers.
One theme of the 2009 Taipei event is bike repairs, clearly very pertinent during a rising consumer mood of thrift set against a backdrop of global financial meltdown.
Meanwhile, attendance at the 2009 CoreBike UK trade show for independent bike distributors surged during January, according to the event’s organisers. Online industry journal BikeBiz reported event organiser Elaine Curtin as stating that: “dealer sign-up did take a massive jump in the last few weeks leading to the show. I think many IBDs were quite reserved because of the dire weather, but things really jumped in the past fortnight and sign-up has beaten last year’s by 15% to 20%.”
A surge in trade show attendees emphasises a sense of optimism that bikes of all shapes and sizes are well placed to ride out the recession. As commuters increasingly leave their cars at home and brave the winter months to work, across the northern hemisphere, this may present an optimistic omen for spring and summer bike shipments.
