In case you missed it, the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show will be splitting off from ICAST after this year (and next) in Orlando, and moving back to Denver, where it had a long run until several years ago. Here is the story:
After careful consideration, research and discussion with our members, AFFTA is excited to announce that IFTD will be moving to Denver, Colorado for 2019 and 2020. The Mountain West is the epicenter of the fly fishing industry and the City of Denver is excited to partner with AFTTA to host the IFTD show.
“Colorado is home to some of the top fly fishing locations in the country,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper. ” We welcome the American Fly Fishing Trade Association to Colorado and look forward to helping it showcase some of the more than 6,000 miles of streams in our state.”
To increase industry participation, AFFTA has decided on a shift in IFTD show timing from summer to fall. The timing change is a result of feedback from exhibitors and attendees, creating an opportunity for increased visibility and attendance. Starting in 2019, the IFTD show will take place, Oct. 16 – 18 at the Colorado Convention Center. Denver is easily accessible from anywhere in the U.S as well as internationally and provides excellent opportunities for accommodations and entertainment.
AFFTA will maintain its current show dates in Orlando in conjunction with ICAST through the summer of 2018. We are grateful to the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) for their continued support and partnership. AFFTA is committed to making the 2017 and 2018 shows successful for both trade organizations.
“Co-locating ICAST and IFTD has been beneficial for many exhibitors and attendees,” said Mike Nussman, president and CEO, American Sportfishing Association. “We wish AFFTA and IFTD our best in 2019 and beyond.”
IFTD is the world’s largest industry fly-fishing show. Manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media are all offered exceptional business opportunities including face-to-face meetings, a demo day event, new product showcase, industry awards and recognition. Also, there are numerous seminars, educational speakers and excellent networking opportunities.
AFFTA President and CEO Ben Bulis said, “The decision to move IFTD to Denver for 2019 and 2020 was based solely on the desire of our membership and what the majority wanted. This was an extremely difficult decision, it’s not easy to just up and move a show without weighing all possible outcomes and one being our relationship with ASA.” Bulis continued “Our industry thanks ASA for welcoming IFTD as a partner in our first ICAST back in 2013. AFFTA is committed to making sure our relationship with ASA continues regardless of where IFTD or ICAST is located.”
AFFTA membership is diverse and spread across the United States and overseas, this move in both location and timing will provide more of our members the opportunity to benefit from all that IFTD has to offer to help build the business of fly fishing.
Editor’s Note: There’s obviously going to be a lot of discussion about the decision to bring the IFTD show back to Denver in the next few years. What do we think? Simple. We think AFFTA made the right choice by joining IFTD with ICAST… that probably saved the show and the trade organization. We think it’s good to have ASA and AFFTA try to find ways to continue to work together. All that said… we think fly fishing has its own distinct identity and demographic and should be represented as such. We think Orlando in the middle of July is a very tough pull for most trout-centric fly businesses. We think the timing shift is as important as the location shift. We hope that more people than ever come and support the IFTD show when it comes to Denver, so we all won’t have to go through this exercise again in a few years. As usual, the real question is… what do YOU think?
