Conferences and trade shows are a great place to meet like-minded individuals, learn about other businesses and get the latest insights into your industry.
Not sure if you or your team members should attend? Here's how attending conferences has helped me professionally and helped our business in the long run.
1. Exposure and education
The first conference I attended was WTM London back in 2017 and it was an eye-opening experience. I witnessed tourism ministers from different countries share their thoughts on over-tourism and sustainability, I learned about the evolving travel styles of the inbound Chinese market and even got to share our marketing strategies with Web Certain TV.
Those three days contributed a lot to my growth and education, which benefitted my work as a marketer at the end of the day.
2. Growing your network
It's refreshing to get out of the office and talk all things travel with other professionals in the industry. Some of the most engaging conversations happened over coffee with people I met at the conference.
During the conference, I was lucky to meet with bloggers and thought leaders who have gone on to write guest posts and run webinars with TrekkSoft. I was also delighted to meet our distribution partners who I had been emailing for months, but had not met in person.
3. Forming better relationships with your team
At TrekkSoft, our team members are spread out across three offices in Barcelona, Interlaken and Minsk. We also have team members based in Munich, Brazil and Malaysia (that's me!).
Conferences like WTM London become a great way to get to know each other outside of working hours. It allowed me to build stronger relationships with the people I worked with as I had a better understanding of their mannerisms and quirky humour. It's something I value and it makes me a better team member too.
Ok, but why should you attend WTM London?
1. Get industry insights
If you want to find out more about the tourism and travel sector from industry experts, then this is the place to be. Not only are exhibitors representing the leading marketplaces, platforms, DMOs and booking systems, you can also book one to one appointments to learn more.
You can also sign up for one of the many talks and workshops WTM London has organised.
I do recommend booking your place soon as these events are often booked out.
2. Meet suppliers, distributors and potential business partners
If you attend as a delegate, you will have your own calendar to create meetings throughout your visit to WTM. You get to book appointments with exhibitors and meetings with other delegates. WTM also offers speed networking events that include 5-minute mini-meetings where you can find relevant leads and make new contacts. Find out more here.
We recommend reaching out to your LinkedIn and business connections at least 2 weeks before the exhibition to check their schedule.
3. Source new technology
Whether it's choosing a new booking software or deciding on a new distribution partner, there's nothing better than meeting these brands in person.
At TrekkSoft, always think it's useful to test out new technology in person, that's why we attend WTM London each year. If you would like to find out more about TrekkSoft, you can book a meeting with us here, or drop by Stand TP600 to say hi!
