Travel shows are held all over the world. They can be aimed at
consumers or the travel trade. Tourism New Zealand attends a number
of these events every year and invites tourism operators that meet
certain criteria to join us. If you've reviewed our Checklist and are
ready to take your business offshore, then check out our Events section to see
what's coming up.
Trade shows usually involve set appointment schedules between
buyers and sellers (pre-scheduled appointments made before the
event) and/or an open forum that allows buyers to browse and visit
the organisations they are most interested in.
Before committing to attend a trade show you should do your
research and make sure it will allow you to meet your business
objectives. Consider the following:
- What are your objectives? Are you attending to
keep in touch with existing clients, attract new business or launch
a new product? What kind of people will attend this tradeshow and
are they the right audience for you? Make sure attendees match your
product and what you have to offer. Are they decision-makers and
will you want to do business with them in the future?
- Is it the right format to meet your
objectives? Does it have pre-scheduled appointments? Will
it be possible to share a stand with another operator and cut back
on costs?
- Talk to your regional tourism organisation and Tourism
New Zealand. If they're involved they will help you make
contact with other people and organisations that are
attending.
- Establish your budget. You will need to allow
for: registration fees; costs of your travel, accommodation,
transport, meals and travel insurance; the exchange rate; any pre-
and post-event activity such as meetings with clients in market;
the cost of producing a stand and any supporting brochures or other
material you require; staff uniforms; freight costs for your stand
and brochures; business expenses while you're away such as phone
calls and internet use.
- Connect with inbound tour operators. Many
international buyers finalise their buying of product through an
inbound tour operator. Before attending an international travel
show you should first have established relationships with inbound
tour operators in New Zealand. See Working with Inbound
Operators.
- Set your rates. Rates for your activity,
attraction or accommodation are usually required to be set for a
12-18 month period. Don't forget to allow for
commissions!
- Get your collateral ready. This includes
brochures, fact sheets, stands and posters for your booth. For
trade shows, it's a good idea to have these on a CD or USB drive
and also include images or videos so you can give them to travel
sellers to take away. You will need enough collateral for the show
as well as for follow-up meetings and mailings. Some organisations
include small gifts on their trade show stands, but this will
depend on your budget.
- Get in touch with current buyers. Make contact
with the travel buyers you are already working with and find out
whether they plan to attend.
- Check language requirements. Attendance at
some events is only appropriate for company representatives fluent
in local languages and supported by brochures in these languages.
If you are attending an event with Tourism New Zealand this will be
specified in the event details when you register.
Tips for successful trade show attendance
Pre-event marketing
It's a good idea to do a direct mail or email campaign to
promote your attendance to buyers. Let them know where to find you
(your booth number) and a contact telephone number and email
address on which they can reach you before and during the event.
You may choose to work with other New Zealand operators to run this
kind of campaign.
Stand design
Your booth needs to reflect your brand, your organisation's
personality and the benefits of your product. Create a point of
difference that will attract the eye of potential buyers. Your
booth also needs to be a good working environment for appointments.
Don't forget to include your industry accreditations including your
Qualmark.
Staff
Your stand must be staffed at all times, allowing for
unscheduled appointments. Staff on the stand will need to have a
good understanding of your business and objectives and be confident
talking to clients and buyers.
Appointments
Most trade shows offer the opportunity to pre-schedule
appointments. Be well prepared in advance for scheduled
appointments. You should also allow time to meet prospects who are
not on your appointment list. Morning and afternoon tea breaks and
social functions often provide opportunities to network with
unscheduled buyers.
Most appointments are only 12-15 minutes long. Be friendly and
welcoming. This conversation should be two-way - listen to the
buyer and find out about their business and requirements so that
you understand fully what they wish to achieve from meeting you.
Then tell them about your product and how it can achieve their
goals.
Keep a record of who you meet, their areas of interest and any
actions to be taken after the show. Have your information packs, CD
or USB ready to hand out at meetings or take address details and
post these out after the show if required.
Follow-up
Make sure you follow-up with all prospects as soon as possible
after the event. Phone or email those you were able to meet with,
and send a letter and information pack to any prospects you didn't
meet.
Competitions
Creating a competition - either on your own or as a cooperative
venture with other operators - can attract buyers to your stand.
Having contacts drop their business cards in a prize draw is an
easy way to gather new contact details for your database. Make sure
you use these contacts to follow-up with prospects after the
event!
Media
There is often a special media area set up at trade shows and
media will be interested in new products and interesting story
ideas. Pre-prepare media releases if you have a new product or
interesting story angle, and ask the event organisers if you can
leave this in the media centre, along with your brochures and image
CDs.