THERE'S HOSTED, AND THEN THERE'S HOSTED

I was interested in the opinions recently expressed in the June edition of C&IT in the Big Debate article: Can trade shows deliver ROI in the current climate? The majority of views, albeit for different reasons, were in favour of trade shows, but the real argument centred on the difference between shows that offer a hosted programme and those that don’t.

It’s just a simple fact that a trade show that initiates and maintains a creative and ambitious hosted programme will always deliver more ROI for both visitors and exhibitors than those that don’t. The question I’d add to the debate however is what is a genuine hosted programme?

We've learnt at the Business Travel Show that you can only really drive ROI for visitors if the hosted programme is a year round commitment with a highly focused business networking and education programme. There also needs to be meaningful ways for both groups to interact and meet over the two days of the show. Having a deeper understanding of the market helps too, BTS 2013 will be our 19th year, enabling us to quickly identify the trends and unique requirements of this complex market.

So embrace successful events, they genuinely do offer a strong return,  but in these challenging times it’s not unreasonable to look harder at the criteria that you use to determine what is and isn't a successful event.

David Chapple is event director of the Business Travel Show - he’d love to hear what you think about this topic - contact him on Twitter @btshowlondon