A new one-day tradeshow has done wonders for minimising the geographical gap between some of Australia’s northern and southern states.
Held in August, the inaugural Queensland and Northern Territory (QNT) on Show gave Victorian-based buyers the opportunity to source and meet with an array of conference and event venues, staging organisations, convention bureaux, and tourism bodies from Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Suppliers from the north set up stands in the main conference and events room of the RACV City Club, located in the heart of Melbourne city, keen to spend the day with a variety of buyers without having to compete for attention against other states and world-wide destinations.
The tradeshow kicked off with a speakers’ showcase event, sponsored by ICMI Speakers & Entertainers, which attracted 180 buyers, primarily key corporate decision makers.
Buyers then arrived at the exhibition hall, which was tightly packed with 50 exhibiting companies. The compact yet cosy layout added to the focused feel of the event. And while numbers around the middle of the day dwindled slightly, promises of a late afternoon cocktail party brought an influx of buyers to the exhibition room during the final hours of the show.
One exhibitor, national sales and marketing manager of ICMI Speakers & Entertainers, Carson White, said that although numbers were limited at times, the quality of the buyers who attended the show was very good.
“I would rather a smaller number of good quality buyers than a large number of non-buyers!” Mr White said.
“Overall the show was good and we did generate some quality leads.”
Also impressed by the quality of the buyers, MICE/groups sales manager of Virgin Blue, Nicola Francis, said she deemed the show as a success.
“We generated quite a few enquiries and there has been a long list of future possibilities,” Ms Francis said.
“The highlight of my day was when one buyer came up to me and said `I need to arrange flights for a few thousand people and I don’t know where to start!’ – A salesperson’s dream!
“By and large, the show was an ideal medium to generate additional market awareness of Virgin Blue’s commitment to the MICE market, and in that respect the show served us well!”
Expectations met
For manager of the Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB), Lynn Fairbrass, the event provided both new business opportunities and a platform to touch base with existing and confirmed business in the NT region.
“The show was extremely successful for the NTCB, with quality buyers expressing interest in both Alice Springs and Darwin for major events,” Ms Fairbrass said.
She said the majority of buyers had event criteria, next available dates, lots of questions, and serious business for the NT.
“I was basically talking to qualified buyers from 10am to 5pm. To see this many qualified buyers on a sales trip would normally take at least three or four days.
“In retrospect, I would have brought along another staff member to assist me in appointments as I’m sure there were buyers we did not get the chance to speak to. The show exceeded my expectations.”
Marketing director of Tourism Whitsundays, Michelle Armour, said the event was good value for money and she hoped that the asking price for exhibiting would not be raised in 2007.
Show organisers Conference Works has launched an exhibitor think tank to assist with producing the 2007 event. To join the think tank contact Conference Works on (03) 9803 4225.
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