Next stop for IHRSA: Sunny San Diego in 2014

When Burt Jacobs, co-founder of the Life is Good company, kicked off IHRSA 2013 in Las Vegas with his message that optimism opens many doors, he set the tone for the entire convention.

IHRSA Spokesperson Meredith Poppler said the IHRSA team is pleased with the 2013 turnout and looks forward to 2014 at the San Diego Convention Center from March 12-15.

“Burt Jacobs’ session was all about optimism, and he did a great job kicking off the whole convention with that optimistic feeling,” Poppler said.

At last month’s show, there were nearly 11,500 industry professionals present, including more than 7,300 convention and trade show attendees. The sold-out trade show floor featured 355 exhibiting companies occupying more than 170,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

There were about 500 fewer attendees than at last year’s show in Los Angeles, which was around what the IHRSA team was expecting, Poppler said.

“Overall we’re thrilled with the attendance numbers,” Poppler said. “Las Vegas doesn’t have as large a population to draw from in terms of health clubs.”

Poppler further explained that in Los Angeles and San Francisco, there are more health clubs and fitness facilities within a four-hour drive than in Las Vegas, where most of the facilities are concentrated within city limits.

Among the biggest successes of the show were the Ignite sessions, educational presentations with several panel members, each of whom had five minutes to present any message about which they were passionate, on topics ranging from business to humor.
“The Ignite sessions on the last day were a super-huge hit,” Poppler said, adding that the quick presentations were easier to digest for attendees who were worn out from the long week.

IHRSA will begin to sell booth space for the 2014 show in May, and registration for attendees will be available in June. For more information visit www.ihrsa.org.