Sunday, January 25, 2009

Disappointing Seattle Travel Show

I had mentioned late last week that I was heading to the Seattle Travel Show over the weekend. Well I did go, but kinda wish I hadn't wasted my Saturday morning. I have been to many travel shows in my time and this one was very ordinary. Let me tell you why:

1. Exhibitors were very limited, covering Hawaii, Washington State, The Caribbean, and a few others. Not a great selection.
2. When I arrived to pick up my FOC ticket, no-one had any idea what I was talking about and it took me nearly 15 minutes to get into the actual show
3. Most of the exhibitors I spoke with were not interested in hearing anything that I had to say. When I mentioned to one exhibitor that I had a blog about Hawaii, he said, "So does that mean you are a travel agent?" No, sir, that means I have a BLOG.
4. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to do any networking. All the Hawaiian exhibitors were just handing out packages of paper, and no-one was friendly. I do have some good resources that I can use, but I was hoping to make a few connections.
5. If I had paid $8 to go into that show, I would have asked for my money back.

Overall, a disappointing event, and its back to the drawing board for me for Hawaii networking opportunities - the Seattle Travel Show just didn't cut it.

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