Electronics trade show has light traffic

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- An attendance drop at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was not universally considered a bad deal, some exhibitors said.

The Consumer Electronics Association said 110,000 visitors attended, about 20 percent fewer than 2008, the Las Vegas Sun reported Monday.

But, "this year was a tremendous success," CES spokeswoman Sarah Szabo said. "We're hearing from exhibitors that they got to meet with the people that they needed to meet with," she said.

The conference lasted four days and included 2,700 exhibitors who brought with them more than 20,000 new products, the Sun reported.

With attendance lighter, "I actually found that more manageable," said John Keuth, a sales director for NXP Semiconductors.

"It used to be you couldn't even walk through the halls," he said.

Francis Murphy, a sales manger for Pioneer Electronics, was "very pleased" with the chance to connect with peers.

"Except for maybe one exception, everyone has had his or her meetings with us. I was very pleased with that," Murphy said.

"I was thinking we would have more down time at this show but we've stayed very, very busy."