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A Study of Exhibitor Firms at a Tourism Trade Show


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1 Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin., India
     

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Purpose- Trade fairs are fastly becoming a very popular marketing communication tool. Participating in trade shows is an increasingly important marketing activity for many companies in the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the usefulness of trade shows and the special nature of travel trade shows and to highlight the different objectives for firms to exhibit.

Design/Methodology/Approach- The 7th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), Cochin, the first destination specific tourism trade show in India, provided a focus for a study of exhibit objectives in an emerging market. A survey was conducted among exhibitors to KTM12 in September 2012 and the results analyzed and compared with findings of similar studies in other countries.

Findings- Non-selling objectives predominate the objectives of the exhibitors. However, the results do not fully validate similar studies done in other parts of the world.

Practical implications- This exploratory study gives very useful insights for trade show organizers to attract the appropriate customers to the show.

Originality/Value- Though trade shows are acknowledged as an increasingly popular communication tool, this paper is the first in India to study the extant of its use in a specific industry and to explore the objectives of firms.


Keywords

Travel Trade Shows/Exhibitions, Objectives, Motivations, Exhibitors, Kerala
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  • A Study of Exhibitor Firms at a Tourism Trade Show

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Authors

Shobha Menon
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin., India
Manoj Edward
Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin., India

Abstract


Purpose- Trade fairs are fastly becoming a very popular marketing communication tool. Participating in trade shows is an increasingly important marketing activity for many companies in the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the usefulness of trade shows and the special nature of travel trade shows and to highlight the different objectives for firms to exhibit.

Design/Methodology/Approach- The 7th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), Cochin, the first destination specific tourism trade show in India, provided a focus for a study of exhibit objectives in an emerging market. A survey was conducted among exhibitors to KTM12 in September 2012 and the results analyzed and compared with findings of similar studies in other countries.

Findings- Non-selling objectives predominate the objectives of the exhibitors. However, the results do not fully validate similar studies done in other parts of the world.

Practical implications- This exploratory study gives very useful insights for trade show organizers to attract the appropriate customers to the show.

Originality/Value- Though trade shows are acknowledged as an increasingly popular communication tool, this paper is the first in India to study the extant of its use in a specific industry and to explore the objectives of firms.


Keywords


Travel Trade Shows/Exhibitions, Objectives, Motivations, Exhibitors, Kerala

References