Exhibit Surveys Inc. has announced the results of their 2011 Trade Show Trends Survey, and while most indicators haven’t changed, a couple of important ones did. Time spent on the show floor increased from 2.3 days in 2010 to 2.4 days, which means attendees have more opportunity to discover exhibitors. And 36 percent of those attendees are first-timers, which means there are lots of fresh eyes at shows, seeking new vendors.
Speaking of research, Successful Meetings shared the results of a recent survey by Cisco on business leaders’ opinions of in-person meetings. According to the results, 75 percent believe in-person collaboration is critical and 73 percent view it as the most impactful form of communication. An interesting contrast to that from another survey by TeamViewer and Harris Interactive found that women seem to be more in favor of online meetings than men.
Destination News
Salt Lake City is facing a growth problem: the Outdoor Retailer show may have to relocate because it has outgrown the Salt Palace. For more than 15 years, the show has held both its summer and winter events there, but is now considering Las Vegas, Denver or Orlando after their current contracts are completed with shows in 2014.
Thanks to misbehavior by members of the GSA, Vegas is once again a target for Washington bureaucrats and commentators. In response, the U.S. Travel Association has encouraged Congress to punish the individuals guilty of overspending, not the destination or meeting industry.
And finally … how do you market an entire country? Earlier this week, Brand USA debuted the first-ever campaign to market U.S. destinations around the world. A $12.3 million advertising blitz begins in the U.K., Canada and Japan on May 1. To check out the campaign, go to www.discoveramerica.com.
