![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_open_medium.gif)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_restricted_medium.gif)
A Study of Exhibitor Firms at a Tourism Trade Show
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Purpose- Trade fairs are fastly becoming a very popular marketing communication tool. Participating in trade shows is an increasingly important marketing activity for many companies in the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the usefulness of trade shows and the special nature of travel trade shows and to highlight the different objectives for firms to exhibit.
Design/Methodology/Approach- The 7th edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), Cochin, the first destination specific tourism trade show in India, provided a focus for a study of exhibit objectives in an emerging market. A survey was conducted among exhibitors to KTM12 in September 2012 and the results analyzed and compared with findings of similar studies in other countries.
Findings- Non-selling objectives predominate the objectives of the exhibitors. However, the results do not fully validate similar studies done in other parts of the world.
Practical implications- This exploratory study gives very useful insights for trade show organizers to attract the appropriate customers to the show.
Originality/Value- Though trade shows are acknowledged as an increasingly popular communication tool, this paper is the first in India to study the extant of its use in a specific industry and to explore the objectives of firms.
Keywords
- Blythe, J. (2002). Using trade fairs in key account management. Industrial Marketing Management, 31(7), 627−635Cavanaugh, S. (1976).
- Bonoma, T. V. (1983). Get more out of your trade shows. Harvard Business Review, January-February, 1(1), 75-83.
- Browning, J.M., & Ronald, J.A. (1988). Trade shows:An effective promotional tool for the small industrial business. Journal of Small Business Management, 10, 31-36.
- Dekimpe M. G., Frangois P., Gopalakrishna S., Lilien G. L. & Bulte C. V. D. (1997). Generalizing About Trade Show. Journal of Marketing, October, 61(4), 55-64.
- Evers, N., & Knight, J. (2008). Role international trade show in small fi rms internationalization: A network perspective. International Marketing Review, 25(5), 544-562.
- Geigenmuller, A. (2010). The role of virtual trade fairs in relationship value creation. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 25(4), 284-292.
- Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report - Managing across distance in today's economic climate: The value of face-to-face communication.
- Herbig, P., O'Hara, B. & Palumbo, F. A. (1998). Tradeshow: Who, what, why. Journal of Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 16(7), 425-435.
- Kerin, R. A. & Cron, W. L. (1987). Assessing trade show functions and performance: An exploratory study. The Journal of Marketing, 51(3), 87-94.
- Kozak, N. (2008). The expectations of exhibitors in tourism, hospitality, and the travel industry : A case studyon East Mediterranean tourism and travel exhibition.Journal of Convention and Event Tourism, 10(2), 37- 41. doi:10.1300/J452v07n03
- Moriarty Jr., R.T., & Spekman, R.E. (1984). An empirical investigation of the information sources used during the industrial buying process. Journal of Marketing Research, 21 (2), 137-147.
- Rice, G. & Almossawi, M. (2011). A study of exhibitor fi rms at an Arabian Gulf trade show, Journal of Global Marketing, 15(3), 149-172.
- Rosson, P. J. & Seringhaus, R. F. H. (1996). Trade fairs as international marketing venues. A Case Study - Proceedings, 12th IMP Conference. Karlsruhe, Germany.
- Setting objectives and evaluating the effectiveness of trade show exhibits. Journal of Marketing, 40(4), 100-103.
- Shoham, A. (1999). Performance in trade shows and exhibitions. Journal of Global Marketing, 12(3), 41-57.
- Tafesse,W. & Korneliussen, T. (2006). The dimensionality of trade show performance in an emerging market. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 6(1), 38-49.
- Union Budget. Services Sector. Retrieved from http://indiabudget. nic.in. (accessed on November 18, 2012).
- Yuksel, U. & Voola, R. (2010). Travel trade shows: Exploratory study of exhibitors’ perceptions. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 25(4), 293-300.
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 655
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 0