This overall figure includes visitors who exclusively visited PIEDRA, which on this occasion came to 17,407 professionals - a 6.2% increase with respect to PIEDRA 2004 -, as well as groups of students, guests and a percentage of visitors from VETECO who, given the coincidence and shared exhibition contents of the two fairs, also attended PIEDRA.

Portugal, Italy, France, the United States and the United Kingdom were the main countries of origin of the foreign buyers who attended the fair.

Another of the characteristics of PIEDRA 2006 was its outstanding international scope, both in terms of supply and demand. In this respect, we might highlight the fact that 41% of the exhibiting companies at this edition were of foreign origin and that the attendance of foreign buyers accounted for 11.5% of the total visitor figure, which represents an 8.3% increase compared to PIEDRA 2004. All of this was backed by a number of promotional campaigns, return trade missions organised by regional export bodies and the fair´s International Buyers Programme, organised in collaboration with the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Madrid, which, once again this year, proved to be a highly effective tool...more