Of the visitors recorded by the show organiser, Beynat said 60% of them were from mainland China, while he also commented that there had been a surprisingly high number of visitors from Japan.

Although the three-day event will not finish until Thursday this week, Beynat said he believed that the exhibition would surpass the forecasted 14-15,000 visitors.

“It will probably reach over 15,000 and could be as much as 16,000,’ he said.

“We are very happy,’ he added.

He then turned the subject to Vinexpo¹s first ever consumer event called Rendez Vous, which, as previously reported by the drinks business, will take place in New York city in November this year.

He said he expected 5-6,000 people to come to the event, which will cost US$180 per day to attend. He added that he plans to hold a Rendez Vous by Vinexpo every year and in major cities other than New York, mentioning London as a possibility.