Some promoters said they advertised more this year. Others said buyers were making purchases to replenish low inventories. Still others said they picked up buyers who didn't make it to the Denver Gem and Mineral Show last year, just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Exhibitors, dealers and show promoters generally refrain from publicly stating sales figures, making the outcome of the showcase, which ended Monday, largely anecdotal.

In the past, dozens of shows around the metropolitan area have drawn more than 45,000 visitors who have spent $76.5 million on goods and services - the city's biggest revenue-generating tourism event of the year, according to research conducted for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Better than expected

The dealers did better than they expected, said Terri Tede, front office manager at the Ramada Inn University, 1601 N. Oracle Road, host to one of four shows for the Arizona Mineral & Fossil Show. "Some sales were down; some companies did better than last year," said Tede. "Overall they probably did about like last year."

Show manager Marty Zinn said the show overall had about 90 percent of the buyers that it had the previous year. Dealers reported sales receipts per buyer were higher than last year, he said.

Although the number of international buyers at the American Gem Trade Association GemFair at the Tucson Convention Center was smaller than last year, sales were "very good," said Douglas K. Hucker, executive director of the Dallas-based association.

"A fabulous year"

The Gem & Lapidary Dealers Association show at the Radisson Hotel City Center, 181 W. Broadway, had 600 new companies buying, said association president Tanna Wyatt: "We had a fabulous year."

Top-Gem Warehouse Show, 1248 N. Main St., pulled in wholesale buyers who couldn't make it to the Denver show after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said Mike New, president of Top-Gem Minerals Inc. Although some of the European and Pacific Rim buyers didn't show in Tucson this year, he said, the show sales ranked second-highest of the company's last eight shows.

"We had a favorable show," said Carole Lee, a spokeswoman for the annual Tucson Gem & Mineral Society show. Parking receipts at TCC, where the show ran Thursday through Sunday, were down by about 4 percent, said Hymie Gonzales, TCC director.

Gem show business was "slightly off" for drivers with Yellow Cab Co., said operations manager Daniel Baker.

* Contact Jeannine Relly at
573-4213 or by e-mail at jrelly@azstarnet.com.