Despite recent events that have made many travelers wary, Cevisama's attendance this year increased by 13% -- including a 4% increase in U.S. visitors. Some exhibitors expressed the opinion that attendee enthusiasm and traffic were stronger at Cevisama than at Cersaie, the Italian ceramic tile industry's biggest trade show, last October.

According to ICEX, the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade, Spanish tile companies exported nearly $1.5 billion of product during the first 10 months of 2001. That figure represents a 7.2% increase over the same period a year earlier.