More than eight in ten incentive travel professionals expect major trade shows to maintain or grow in importance over the next three years, despite cost remaining the biggest barrier to getting value from attendance.
The latest SITE PULSE survey found that 59.5% expect trade shows to become more important, with a further 24% anticipating their role will remain broadly unchanged. Just 3.5% foresee a decline.
Yet almost half (46%) identified cost and budget constraints as their biggest challenge, ahead of time away from work and clients (18%) and demonstrating return on investment (16%).
The pressures varied across the industry. A third of agencies identified time away from work and clients as their biggest challenge, while almost a quarter of hotels and suppliers pointed to demonstrating ROI. Cost remained the leading concern across all four core audience groups.
“There is a strong vote of confidence here in the future of face-to-face business development. The challenge is to make that investment work harder,” said Pádraic Gilligan, head of consultancy and research at the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE).
“Clear objectives, relevant appointments and meaningful follow-up all matter, as does recognising the longer-term value of relationships when assessing what a show has delivered.”
European respondents were more cautious about the future of trade shows, with 54.5% expecting them to grow in importance and 8% anticipating a decline, the highest proportion of any region. Demonstrating ROI was also a greater concern in Europe, cited by 23% compared with 16% overall.
The research also explored what attendees want from their time on the show floor. Asked to identify the single most important function trade shows serve for their business, 43% of buyers chose building and deepening existing relationships, rising to 52% among agencies and incentive houses.
Lead generation and building the sales pipeline topped the list for hotels and suppliers (39%), destination management companies (43%), and destination marketing organisations and convention bureaux (44%). Corporate buyers were more evenly divided between contracting and closing business (26%) and deepening relationships (25%).
Education and development ranked fourth overall, with 9% selecting it as the most important function of trade shows, rising to 18% among corporate buyers.
Gilligan said its relatively low ranking warranted attention given organisers’ investment in educational programmes, calling for evidence of whether education influences attendance decisions, improves professional practice or contributes to business results.
The survey, Trade Shows and Business Development, received 747 responses, the largest return in the SITE PULSE series. Its initial analysis focuses on 657 respondents across the four core buyer and supplier groups.
Conducted from 8–23 September ahead of IMEX America, the analysed sample was weighted towards North America, including Mexico, which accounted for 425 respondents. A further 101 were based in Europe.