Over the next two weeks we're going to be recording many of our panels and speakers for our upcoming Virtual Vacation Expo, which you will be able to see "live" online on Sept. 25, 26 and 27 at www.VirtualVacationExpo.com. Those panels and speakers, as well as the virtual tradeshow floor itself, will be available on-demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week for 90 days after that. If you're an agent interested in selling vacation travel, I'll tell you right now -- you will absolutely benefit by attending this unique event!
Virtual Vacation Expo is the second virtual travel event staged by our parent company, Performance Media Group, representing yet another first in the travel industry. In our first show, Virtual Home Based Expo, we focused on issues of importance to agents working at home. While there were certainly a few glitches in that show -- we had to delay it for nearly a month while we worked out some kinks -- we've learned from the experience and made significant improvements. You can still view the panels and speakers from our first show at www.VirtualHomeBasedExpo.com.
What's clear is that our virtual shows are already having a major impact in the market for travel agent events. While I don't believe we will necessarily replace traditional "live" events, they are crucial for the 95 percent of agents who never get a chance to attend physical tradeshows, either because they don't have the time or the funds to get there. These days, with airfares going up and agent rates at hotels rising as well, it can be a challenge for some agents to get to traditional tradeshows.
For suppliers, a virtual trade show also can represent significant cost savings. The cost to buy a booth, set it up, and pay air and hotel bills during a traditional tradeshow can be $10,000 or more, in some cases. For a virtual event, the cost can be significantly less -- less than half what a traditional show costs. I'm not saying that some traditional shows are a not a necessary expense, but there clearly is another option in the market today -- virtual shows.
We're learning quickly about how virtual shows operate -- and it's not anything like their physical counterparts. While we had nearly 8,000 agents register to attend our Virtual Home Based Expo, a little more than 4,200 actually came online to watch a panel or speaker, or visit a booth (though there is still time for them to visit the website). That's not bad, of course, considering that most traditional shows these days report attendance figures (sometimes a bit inflated) of anywhere from 500 to 2,000 agents (though one or two having slightly more than that).
A good show these days for a traditional trade event will have roughly 1,000 agents attending. How do I know that? Well I've spent the better part of the last 20 years attending, covering and speaking at traditional trade events, so I think I have a little bit of experience in how they operate. I've also helped organize many of those shows -- and still do help to program some of them, such as the New York Times Travel Show and THETRADESHOW (both of which I expect will have well over 2,000 attendees).
As I mentioned above, however, virtual shows are a different breed, and one we're only starting to understand. Agents who participated in our Virtual Home Based Show have visited an average of 15 virtual booths each, so far. Supplier booths have attracted an average of 150 agents, though booths for many of the major cruise lines drew much more than that. Some 677 agents have visited the Carnival Cruise Lines booth at last count, while 594 agents have visited Disney Cruise Line, 601 have visited Royal Caribbean, and 577 have dropped in on Norwegian Cruise Line. Of course, the final count has yet to come in, since a virtual show can go on literally forever (though we'll end it in September).
So why should you sign up as an agent for our Virtual Vacation Expo? And why should you as a supplier exhibit at our newest virtual show? The answer is that it's all part of being the first to experience a new form of networking, communication and education that is going to be a major part of this industry going forward. After we launched our first virtual travel event, I was amused (but not surprised) to see some of our competitors unveil their own virtual formats. I think they will all find it's a little more difficult to do the first time -- and we're lucky enough to have a little more experience in the virtual arena now.
Meanwhile, I certainly hope to see (virtually) many of you when you sign up for Virtual Vacation Expo (www.VirtualVacationExpo.com). We are preparing a slate of wonderful speakers and panelists that you will be able to view on the "live" days in September, and then see (or see again) over the next three months. I've helped to program this show and will be appearing, along with my colleagues Mark Murphy, president and CEO of Performance Media Group, and Theresa Masek, editor in chief of Vacation Agent, as moderators and interviewers during the event.
On the cruise front, we will feature keynoters Terry Dale, president of CLIA, and Rick Sasso, president of MSC Cruises here in the U.S. I'm also going to have a special one-on-one interview with Mark Conroy, president of Regent Seven Seas. We will also offer panels on the evolution of the contemporary cruise ship (and how to sell it), the many changes going on in the premium and luxury market, and how river cruising is literally taking the industry by storm these days.
On the tours front, you'll be able to hear from keynoters Bob Whitley, president of the U.S. Tour Operators Association, and Marc Kazlauskas, president of Insight Vacations. Featured panels will examine the outlook for tours to Europe, the market for tours and wholesale packages to North American destinations, and the evolution of exotic and niche tour products. A special panel on the opportunities in rail travel will also provide you with valuable knowledge about this popular segment.
On the resorts front, you'll hear from such speakers as Randy Russell, chief romance officer for Couples Resorts, who will speak on the evolution of honeymoon and romance travel, and at least one other top expert on selling resorts, which we expect to name very soon. We'll also be featuring panels on how you can sell into the boom in Las Vegas resorts, as well as a panel on the dramatic changes occurring in the all-inclusive resort market. Rounding out the resort day will be a special panel focusing on the lucrative opportunities available in the car rental market. (By the way, in case you haven't figured it out, the three days of the Virtual Vacation Expo are aligned much like the sections of our Vacation Agent magazine!)
As I write this, nearly 3,000 agents have signed up for Virtual Vacation Expo with a little less than two months to go. So I urge you to register now and make sure you "tune-in" on the "live" days of Sept. 25, 26 and 27. To register free for "live" dates and on-demand event through Dec. 31, please visit www.VirtualVacationExpo.com.
James Shillinglaw, CTC
Editor in Chief
jshillinglaw@pmgemail.com