The survey said that over the 14 days of the show, around 391,000 visitors from 138 countries came to the exhibition to see the 1,971 exhibitors from 52 different countries.

The organisers claimed that the growth in overseas visitors was particularly attributed to Asian and Latin American attendees.

Its figures suggested that around 7% of visitors came from South and Central America and 15% came from Asia, up 1.4% from 2004.

The level of North American visitors remained stable at 6%. “Drupa has further developed its global significance and its international status,” said Drupa president Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, KBA chief executive. “Given the difficult economic climate this is a remarkable success.”