The leisure industry has been important to vending for many years, and some of the greatest examples of vending in action can be found in leisure centres, theme parks and other places where people go to have fun. Leisure Industry Week (LIW) first ran in 1989 and quickly established itself as the trade show for the UK out of home leisure sector. LIW represents the entire spectrum of leisure operators including health clubs, theme parks, gyms, play centres, sports clubs, farm parks and bars etc.
It says: “All these operators have 3 things in common: they want more visitors/members to their facility, spending more when they are there and keeping them safe while they are on site. LIW is designed to meet these objectives by providing a range of products, services and education.” The event runs in Birmingham from 20-22 September and is free to visitors that have pre registered.
The Play & Attractions segment of LIW remains the leading meeting place for operators and managers of family-day-out and entertainment destinations. Timed at the end of the traditional summer season the event provides suppliers and service providers with an opportunity to influence owner-operators, multi-site groups and those looking to start a new business within the sector.
A useful show for the Vending Industry, the organisers are clear on the benefits of both visiting and exhibiting: “Operators of UK based family entertainment and visitor attraction businesses have enjoyed a buoyant season and are one of the few sectors to have benefitted from the recession. With caution, theme parks, family fun parks, zoos, agricultural attractions, heritage sites and play centres alongside holiday centres and caravan parks are now looking to invest in diversifying the customer experience, encouraging increased catering revenues and embracing the latest technologies.
“Alongside Play & Attractions, the other sectors such as Eat & Drink and Leisure Facilities give visitors access to a further range of suppliers and services providers that can help add value and customer experience in other areas of their business. From customer management systems, security systems, cleaning and hygiene solutions to catering equipment, menu development and audio visual equipment, the wider offering of Leisure Industry Week’s exhibitors warrants a day away from the office for a wide range of job roles.”
584 of the visitors that registered for the 2010 show highlighted Vending as an area of interest. All Things Nice Vending; Boost Drinks Ltd; Britvic Soft Drinks C/o Promote PR; Calypso Soft Drinks; Eagle Vending and Automatic Refreshments (Midlands) were just a few from this industry that exhibited at what is said to be a very successful show this year.
