WASHINGTON -- A new category of attendee and online registration
are among the major changes at this year's International Pow Wow,
the Travel Industry Association's trade show geared to the inbound
market.
Slated for May 17 to 21 in St. Louis, the Pow Wow is a
marketplace that brings U.S. suppliers together with international
buyers (agents and operators).
New this year will be an opportunity for domestic buyers to meet
with supplier representatives as well, according to Betsy O'Rourke,
the TIA's senior vice president for marketing and membership
programs.
For years, domestic buyers have slipped into the marketplace to
conduct business even though the event is designed to reach out to
overseas travel sellers.
"Many of our receptive tour operators have been bringing their
domestic buyers because many of their clients were there," O'Rourke
said.
Lacking the benefit of an appointment schedule, domestic buyers
often resorted to shoehorning themselves into meeting with
suppliers.
"What we have done is legitimize that opportunity," O'Rourke
said. "There will be a domestic buyer registration for receptive
tour operators, with the condition being the receptive tour
operator has to be an exhibitor on the floor at Pow Wow. So if they
would like to have an appointment, we will go ahead and schedule
them."
Additionally, domestic tour operators that are not exhibiting at
the show will be allowed to send one representative. The company
must have a minimum of $200,000 in consumer protection
insurance.
Allowing both types of domestic buyers to participate in Pow Wow
constitutes "a big change," O'Rourke said. "While we have had them
on the floor, it has never been legitimized. And it has been an
issue for us."
In another change this year, the TIA won't offer a reverse
marketplace, an hour-long period for U.S. suppliers to slate
appointments with international buyers by country.
"But we don't need to do that anymore because we have Pow Wow
Online," O'Rourke said. According to O'Rourke, much of that
business now is conducted on line.
With reverse marketplace gone, this year's Pow Wow will offer
attendees five more appointments.
The TIA also is moving toward online registration for domestic
suppliers.
O'Rourke noted that while attendees are still unable to process
their registrations on line, they are able to download the
registration form from the TIA's Web site at www.tia.org.
"You have to go on line, print out the document, then fax it in
to us. You can't fill it in on line yet. That will be the next
phase," she said. "The reason for that is most people want to
attach checks. Very few people put this on credit card. They want
to print it out, send it to accounting, get a check and mail it in.
That is the most common practice."
O'Rourke said Pow Wow events still are being formulated, but
American Airlines chief Don Carty is slated to deliver the keynote
address and Royal Caribbean International will host one of the
lunches.