Stephanie Corbin

Reinventing the Industry

Necessity's the mother of invention.

It's a phrase people use during tough times – and this recession is one of those. It causes companies to take a hard look at what they're doing and make changes.

I think the tradeshow industry's no different, but I also think it is an invisible industry. By that I mean that I don't think the general public is aware of what the industry contributes to the economy.

This week, I was at the Orange County Tourism Council’s Tourism Conference in Dana Point, Calif., and listened to Bruce Bommarito of the U.S. Travel Assn. speak about the industry. He showed a video clip from a documentary made in 1992 that showed move-in and move-out of tradeshows and discussed the industry as needing more support from policy and decision makers.

Afterward, Bommarito made an interesting comment: "Ten years from now, we don't want to be saying the same thing."

What he stressed – and it's part of the U.S. Travel Assn.'s Meeting Mean Business campaign – is that the industry is an important one that generates billions of dollars each year in travel spending and economic impact.
I
t has twice the revenue of the automotive industry. And it's not begging the government for assistance, he added.
I thought that was an important message to stress during these times: Tradeshows, meetings and conventions don't need a handout. They're not receiving taxpayer dollars to stay afloat.

I think the invention that should be the result of this recession for the industry is that people know about the industry once economic recovery happens.

So that, 10 years from now, the tradeshow industry isn't in the same place it was in 1992.

Posted by Stephanie Corbin on May 1, 2009 | Comments (1)