You've Made the Investment, Are you Maximizing It?

This past January 11th and 12th, the first Travel Show of the 2014 season kicked off with our Chicago Travel & Adventure Show. I, like all that attended, were overwhelmed by the heavy turnout from affluent, savvy Chicagoland attendees. 

Much to the delight of our exhibitors and speakers, 21,000 people attended the show this past weekend - a 7% increase over 2013. Theaters were at standing room only and at the main Travel Channel Theater, crowds up to 1,000 took in presentations from Rick Steves, Samantha Brown, Travel Channel's Todd Carmichael, the legendary Pauline Frommer and bestselling author Patricia Schultz. 

Our educational Destination Theater was extremely well attended by travelers looking for in-depth destination information. Our new Taste of Travel Theater layout was a huge hit as chefs and foodies alike enjoyed the interactive, intimate Kitchen Stadium right on the Show Floor. And of course, our legendary Global Beats Stage entertained attendees with over 400 performers all weekend long. 

Now, as much as our exhibitors were delighted with the high volume of quality attendees, I witnessed and heard from many that they ran out of materials by the end of the first day. Worse, many booths simply were not staffed with enough people. 

I cannot tell you how sad it makes me to see attendees lined up at a booth, waiting to talk to a destination expert, only to walk away frustrated because that exhibitor did not have enough booth personnel. 

Other exhibitors had enough people but not enough booth space, thus limiting their ability to talk to interested attendees. 

With literally thousands of bookings taking place right on the Show Floor and the days after, those exhibitors not prepared for the volume, did not maximize the true potential of the show.

Each of our shows are different in terms of attendance, demographic nuances and regional interests, but the one thing that always remains constant is the more people you talk to the more you will sell!

So I urge you, take a look at your pre-show plan. Talk to your Travel & Adventure Show representative and get a feel for the market. Then ask yourself:

• Can you handle a big crowd with the booth size you've contracted?
• Do you have enough people in the booth to engage with multiple prospects all day long?
• Have you packed or planned for enough lead capture material & brochures?

Our events have consistently been adding thousands of attendees in each market each year. Make sure you maximize your investment in the show with valuable face time with as many attendees as possible.

As always, thanks for reading!

Until next time, 

John Golicz, CEO, Unicomm