“We were delighted with the visitors’ response to the show”

What were your expectations for the show? Did you meet them?
Having been at the previous location for 24 years, moving to the new location certainly meant we were going into unchartered territory. 

Bringing the show to the new location brought many challenges.  We had to reconfigure the layout of the show to fit into the new space, we had to take into consideration such elements as the lower ceiling heights, the higher level of ambient light and the accessibility. There was limited on-site parking which meant we had to place a greater reliance on three modes of public transport to get the visitors here: Buses from Central Railway Station; Ferries from the old Darling Harbour site (where the bulk of the parking was still available) and the Taxi Service.

There was also a concern about the geographic “segregation” of Darling Harbour from the restaurant precinct of Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay.

In addition to promoting the show to both Exhibitors and Visitors we also needed to communicate the details of the new location and its associated transport arrangements to the Exhibitors and Visitors. Of course the biggest unknown for us was; “How would the visitors react to the new location and the use of public transport?”

How did the exhibitors and visitors respond?
As it turned out none of the concerns we had prior to the show materialised.  We were greatly encouraged when the show’s exhibitor space sold out a month before the show dates. The visitors seemed to enjoy the ambient light, the on-site catering and the accessibility.

To communicate the details of the new location, our early advertising focussed on just that, “AGE to shine at Glebe Island”. In May we launched a dedicated AGE mobile App which included all the information visitors needed for access to the show. When analysing the download statistics for this App this week we learned that the App user numbers exceeded 90% of the numbers of Desk Top users.

At the actual AGE, the buses, taxis and ferries all seemed to work like clockwork, with a third of all visitors using the ferries.

From the exhibitors’ point of view, the geographic segregation from Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay’s restaurant precinct was a bonus. The visitors were happy to dine on site and consequently stayed on site for longer.

Ultimately, we were delighted with the visitor response to the show with visitor numbers very close to those of 2013.

What can you tell us about exhibitor and visitor feedback?
The feedback from both the exhibitors and the visitors has been very positive with many Exhibitors spontaneously expressing satisfaction at the Exhibitor Cocktail Party, held on the first night of the show.

While some established exhibitors were nervous about the move to Glebe Island and had lowered their expectations accordingly, one of them, pleasantly surprised, volunteered “We have been exhibiting at the Sydney AGE for a number of years. This year our expectations were not high.  We were pleasantly surprised. The show from our perspective was a huge success.”

Another exhibitor also commented: “This year’s AGE was definitely the best in recent memory. After changing venues I’ll admit I wasn’t quite sure how we’d go but the overwhelming response from customers locally and internationally has made this year’s show a fabulous success. Not only was I impressed with the quality of the attendees, the effort all the exhibitors went to getting behind the show was amazing.  Can’t wait for 2015!”

Why is it important to run the Exhibition in Sydney, Australia?
When the NSW Government first announced the demolition and reconstruction of the old Darling Harbour site and that it would take three years, we considered our options which were to move the show interstate to either Sydney or Brisbane or stay in Sydney and either go to the suburban Homebush precinct or utilise the un-built Glebe Island facility, which was to be adapted from the temporary Press facility that was used in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

To assist us in our decision making, we widely canvassed the opinions of both the exhibitors and the visitors and the response was a resounding “Keep the AGE in Sydney”.

From our perspective Sydney is the natural home for the AGE particularly as it attracts visitors from every State in Australia as well as international visitors from New Zealand and South East Asia. This year we also had visitors from the USA.

What are your future plans?
The 2015 and 2016 Australasian Gaming Expos will be run at Glebe Island and then in 2017 we will be relocating again, back to Darling Harbour.