HOSTED BUYERS
Leveraging business through
Quality Hosted Buyers’ presence at exhibitions not only boosts overall business, but also often encourages other professionals to participate in the show. Experts give a lowdown on the program’s impact.
The Hosted Buyer Program has taken the exhibition world by storm. Initially a popular business model in Europe, its reach has extended to the Asia Pacific in the past few years, with more and more trade shows hosting high-quality buyers to boost meetings.
FITUR is one such show that has successfully implemented its International Hosted Buyers program for six stagings, hosting around 200 invitees from 50 countries at the 2016 edition. Ana Larrañaga, Director, FITUR, says that the program allows exhibitors to focus on an average of 10 to 20 meetings over two days with potential clients who are highly qualified and have considerable decision-making authority. “This way both parties achieve added profitability in the investment, saving time and money. For their part, buyers also benefit given that they arrive with a pre-arranged program of meetings with the exhibitors that most interest them.”
She informs that the program involves an intense schedule of pre-arranged meetings between exhibitors and hosted buyers. More than 5,000 meetings were held at the last edition of FITUR and Larrañaga points out that a good part of the program’s success is measured by the correct buyer identification. “The right buyers are the ones who are greatly interested in being present at a leading trade show in the world of tourism, particularly in regard to the Latin American market, which is especially attractive for such buyers.”
TAPPING THE RIGHT BUYERS
Most trade shows have a set of pre-requisites that buyers have to fulfil, like in the case of INDABA’s Hosted Buyer Program. “A well-considered and stringent selection benchmark for buyer participation at INDABA ensures the renowned trade show attracts only the best global buyers through the