DENVER — The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) Safety 2024 Professional Development Conference and Exposition broke attendance, exhibitor-count and net square footage records.
More than 6,700 professionals visited the sold-out event at the Colorado Convention Center Aug. 7-9, an increase of more than 800 attendees when compared to last year.
The show reported more than 3,500 new attendees, which made up more than half of its total attendance, and featured more than 650 vendor booths spread over 120,000 square feet.
Additionally, the event’s pre-conference courses surpassed their attendance goals and Safety 2024 raised more than its $25,000 fundraising goal for the ASSP Foundation.
Experience Enhancements
Chris Ballman, Vice President of Events and Conferences at ASSP, shared that the show’s focus on attendee experiences helped fuel this growth.
“We want to put the attendee first. We want to make sure we’re hitting their needs,” Ballman said. “This is an opportunity for them to talk with some of the brightest and smartest minds in the industry.”
An artificial campfire on the show floor, a larger career advancement center and expanded networking offerings for practice specialty communities and common interest groups, primarily virtual communities, were incorporated at the event this year.
Also, vendors who offered degrees in occupational health and safety were situated near one another, making it easier to explore their offerings.
Safety 2024 received more than 600 education session proposals, which were whittled down to more than 200 selections. According to Ballman, this rigorous selection process helped ensure that the event’s educational programming was relevant and popular, driving attendance further.
Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP, ASSP’s President, shared that organic post-COVID recovery, Denver’s popularity among attendees and the excitement generated at Safety 2023, another record-breaking show, were also growth factors.
“We have a very high Net Promoter Score, which we are very proud of, and we expect that to go up following this most recent experience,” Walaski said. “I have no doubt that the energy that was created from that event, and the fallout from that event, will carry over to next year … I also think the idea that we sold out this year will generate more buzz, more interest [and] more willingness on the part of potential attendees to really get their name in and get registered quickly.”
Related. Preparation and Planning Lead to Big Boost in New Exhibitors at NGAUS Convention
Ballman and Walaski also highlighted the show’s Safety Apparel and PPE Fashion Show, created to showcase female-focused personal protective equipment (PPE) and address a gap in the market.
“The fashion show was originally in a very small room, but it outgrew that pretty quickly,” Walaski said, adding that she was one of its runway models. “We have a really good time, but the message is really, really important, and we also saw an increase in the number of vendors who offer PPE specifically designed for women … that’s been a really important part of what the organization has tried to do: to elevate an issue, [and] bring it to everybody’s attention, and we’ve seen some incredible benefits as a result of that.”
ASSP also moved its Leadership Conference, previously held during the fall in Chicago, to the day before Safety 2024 in Denver to make it easier to attend. It saw around 300 registrants.
Walaski added that ASSP will continue to hold the conference with their Safety Professional Development Conference and Exposition in the future.
Learn more about ASSP here.
Photo Credit: ASSP
