Comment: The rise of virtual exhibitions
Christmas comes but once a year and so, of course, does the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). This year’s ATM will be my 10th and I’m looking forward to it with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, it’s probably the best networking opportunity the region offers for hospitality and travel folks, but on the other hand, well, it’s just very big, crowded, and hectic.
It’s a bit like a sumptuous Friday brunch in one of Dubai’s luxury hotels — never mind how hard I try, I always feel pressured into trying everything and taking in as much as possible. The best-laid plans for a relaxed and organised ATM fall by the wayside once I’m in the halls and faced with the huge number of captivating stands and interesting offers.
Drive a racecar at the Etihad stand, have a massage at the Dubailand pavilion, grab a coffee with ex-colleagues, check out the exotic costumes of some of the lesser-known destinations.
Don’t even get me started on the ATM parties — this is where the real business is being done, after-hours and over drinks and nibbles. At the end of the week, I always feel like I need a holiday and usually promise myself to take things a little easier next year.
A couple of years ago, I attended my first “virtual” travel exhibition. Okay, so I felt a bit like I was in a video game, but on the upside, there were no parking troubles, no heavy bags to carry, and nobody ever stepped on your toes or accidentally shoved you into the water feature of the Golf putting green on the Damac stand.
You received your registration details by email, logged on to the website at any time during the event’s opening hours, and had the opportunity to explore the various virtual exhibition stands at your leisure, chat with exhibitors, or even relax in a virtual lounge and chat to other visitors.
While on an exhibition stand, you could browse through the brochures and download anything of interest directly to your computer. Could this be the future of travel exhibitions?
I’m not sure. I enjoyed the fact that I could wander around the exhibition halls from the comfort of my office, but at the same time, chatting to exhibitors or other visitors via the website’s chat service just wasn’t the same as “being there” and hanging out in a virtual café or bar simply felt a bit ridiculous.
Having said that, I do think that the role of virtual events will increase in the coming years — a development which I think is to be broadly welcomed, because it levels the playing field and gives smaller operators or visitors from outside the region the chance to get involved in events which otherwise would be outside of their exhibition or travel budgets.
Much like social and digital media will not immediately replace traditional newspapers or magazines, I do not think that virtual events will entirely replace bricks and mortar exhibitions, but they can certainly add to such events and I believe that we will see more and more virtual events popping up in the coming years.
If you haven’t attended a virtual travel exhibition as a visitor or exhibitor, have a look around and give it a try — it’s always better to be prepared than to be sorry. To help you get started, I have compiled a few tips and tricks, which may help you on the way into exhibition cyberspace.
Whatever you do: Keep it social!