Comdex venue cancellations leave Asian firms out in cold

The last-minute scaling back of Comdex Fall, which has seen attendance levels drop dramatically over recent years, has left some Asian exhibitors with a bad taste in their mouths.

Normally, Comdex Fall is held in two main venues: The Las Vegas Convention Centre and the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Facing a lower-than-usual booking rate - the number of exhibitors this year has dropped from 2,300 to 2,000 - and the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks, show organisers Key3Media decided to close down the Sands show.

Asian technology pavilions including those of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Singapore Trade Development Board and Taipei Hsien Computer Manufacturers Association were instead moved to the Las Vegas Convention Centre, where the main exhibition is held.

However, a number of companies which had booked conference and meeting rooms at the Venetian Hotel in the hope of catching some of the Sands' traffic have found themselves left out in the cold. The Venetian is connected to the Sands, and many visitors to the centre for its Asian-themed floor would find time to visit the neighbouring conference rooms.

Adding to the problems, the Venetian is the only major hotel on the strip that no longer has a free shuttle-bus service from the convention centre.

'It's been terrible,' said one exhibitor. 'There's nobody here. We've been sitting here all day with nothing to do.'