Organizers Say About 200,000 Attended The Central Florida Event

Some 200,000 people from 60 countries attended the 42nd annual Sun 'n Fun International Fly-In & Expo in April, according to the event's organizers.

The annual event, held in April, has grown into the second largest event of its kind in the world and is Florida’s largest annual convention, according to the Sun 'n Fun website. The six-day event on 2,200 acres has been recorded to have a $64,000,000 direct and indirect economic impact on the I-4 corridor in Central Florida as media from around the world cover the event

Held at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, FL, air traffic movements for the event elevates the airport to the ‘busiest in the world’ for one week.

Other statistics from the 2016 event include:

• 251 attendees took advantage of the free ticket offer for active military available April 5-7
• 7,530 attendees took advantage of discounted ticket pricing available to active military, retired military and veterans
• Sun ‘n Fun ordered over 400 Portalets, 25 light towers, 412 golf carts, and approx. 150 tents
• Sun ‘n Fun distributed 90,000 bottles of water and approximately 19,000 sandwiches to volunteers
• 677 individuals from 28 states registered for the Career Fair
• 3,400 students went on tours
• 512 students attended the F-22 and Golden Knights Symposium
• Approximately 50,000 attendees visited Aerospace Discovery at the Florida Air Museum and/or the 727 Piedmont Aerospace Experience
• Volunteer Ham Radio Operators spoke with people in 43 states and 18 countries
• 440 media representatives attended from 16 countries
• 5,988 people attended 331 forums
• 3,228 people attended 56 workshops
• over 9,000 aircraft movements took place
• 494 exhibitors participated
• The Lockheed F-35 Lightning II made its first appearance in the Southeast at SnF16

Social Media Statistics:

• Total Reach (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) = over 2 million
• Total Impressions = almost 10 million
• Engagement Rate = more than double the normal amount
• Approximately 3,000 new fans were added
• 2,000 images were posted on Instagram by fans
• Volunteer hours will be totaled and released later this year after the annual chairmen’s meeting.

“All the proceeds from the Fly-In and other events on our Expo campus are reinvested into education programs and activities, including college scholarships used to achieve aerospace-related degrees,” said John “Lites” Leenhouts, President/CEO of Sun ‘n Fun. “As of today, we have awarded over 125 scholarships, soloed over 55 students, and created 49 new private pilots. Through these efforts and more we are Building a Brighter Future through Aviation!”

The 43rd Annual Sun ‘n Fun International Fly-In & Expo is scheduled for April 4 – 9, 2017. Please use #SnF17 on social media.

(Image provided by Sun 'n Fun via Flickr)

FMI: www.sun-n-fun.org