NEW YORK—Preliminary unaudited attendance figures for International Vision Expo West, held last week at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, show a 9 percent increase in attendance from 2009, according to show organizers. A final complete third-party audit of the show will be available in approximately six weeks.

“The attendance figures from this year’s show are above our pre-recession attendance figures from International Vision Expo West 2008,” said Tom Loughran, vice president for Reed Exhibitions. “It’s a great statement of confidence for the optical industry as a whole that there was such a strong showing last weekend in Las Vegas.”

Over 450 exhibitors were present at the show throughout the exhibit hall, the Galleria and The Suites. In addition, a new show floor area was dedicated to the Optical Laboratories Association (OLA), which held its annual meeting in conjunction with the show, offering an expanded audience for exhibitors.

“We had more of just about everything at this year's show,” said Tom Loughran, vice president for Reed Exhibitions. “Not only was our attendance up, but we had 70 new exhibitors and 10,000 more net square feet of booth space on the show floor. When you add in that we had over 400 show specials, over 30 industry groups partnering and co-locating with the show and 66 new continuing education courses, it's clear that the opportunities offered at the show were unparalleled.”

Next year, the conference for International Vision Expo West will be held Sept. 21 to 24, 2011, and the exhibition will be held Sept. 22 to 24, 2011, at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. International Vision Expo West has show dates confirmed with the Sands Convention Center through 2015 and will continue to hold the event in the month of September each year.