The 109th American International Toy Fair welcomed nearly 27,000 industry professionals from over 100 countries this year.

Owned and operated by the Toy Industry Association (TIA), there was increased attendance at the show across nearly all categories, including a three per cent increase in buyers, a five per cent increase in international participants, a 14 per cent jump in licensors and a 23 per cent surge in entertainment executives.

This year’s US Toy Fair also welcomed 10,592 buyers from more than 6,000 retailers worldwide. Nearly 1,100 exhibitors from 24 countries were on the show floor, which covered 366,489 net square feet, representing the largest exhibit area since 2000.

Carter Keithley, TIA president, commented: "Toy Fair has evolved into one of the greatest shows on earth, attracting powerful players from the $83 billion global toy industry.

"Our show is proven to be a critical stop on the global toy circuit and a magical, exciting experience for all who come."

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"The rapidly increasing international interest we’ve seen over the past few years has made Toy Fair more dynamic and successful than ever before," added Marian Bossard, TIA vice president of meetings and events.

The top five countries with the highest attendance numbers were Canada, the UK, Japan, Mexico and Australia. Significant increases in visitors came from Colombia (+33 per cent), Japan (+17 per cent), Australia (+13 per cent), Mexico (+11 per cent), Canada (+ten per cent) and Panama (+200 per cent).

Buyer delegations from Target, Toys R Us and Walmart saw unprecedented increases of 39 per cent, 24 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively. 24 of the nation’s top 25 toy sellers were represented by buyers.

More than 1,000 press visited New York to report on this year’s top toy trends, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, USA Today, MTV, ABC News, CNN, Fox News, WPIX, TMZ.com/AOL Entertainment, and HBO Latin America Networks.

“This year’s show was far and away the best we’ve had in our 26 years of exhibiting. The booth traffic was incredible, with fantastic feedback on our new products pouring in from buyers and press,” said ThinkFun communications manager, Charlotte Fixler.

"This has been one of the most successful Toy Fairs in Imperial’s history," agreed Imperial Toy co-president, Peter Tiger.

"We had an amazing first experience exhibiting at Toy Fair,” commented Julien Sharp, president of Funnybone Toys, one of the 228 companies exhibiting this year for the first time.

"We loved our location and traffic. I am in discussions with two buyers this week about orders that would literally be two-thirds of the initial order we made from the factory."

TIA’s Bossard continued: "Both big-name companies and exciting new start-ups indicated to us that they experienced four jam-packed days of order-writing and deal-making across a diverse and powerful sea of global buyers.  We are thrilled that Toy Fair 2012 was such a positive event for all of our audiences."

The 110th American International Toy Fair will be held February 10-13, 2013, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.