The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo is set for the 17th – 19th November, 2015 at the Kampala Serena hotel. Considering that November has been a busy month for the Ugandan tourism sector, in terms of events, some business owners may be wondering why there is a need to participate in yet another expo. Experts from Jovago.com urge all tour operators not to tire of the numerous events. They are strategic and quite important for each individual business to grow in one way or another, whether it be in networks, knowledge or clientele. Here is why you should maximize on each industry-driven exhibition that comes your way.
1. Learn: Education is only avoided by the foolish. The smart business owner is always eager to find out what the new business tactic is. It is very important to be aware of upcoming market trends. Discovering how to effectively use social media and content marketing, why mobile money is the new way of doing business in Africa, how to tailor your tour packages to attract both international and domestic travelers amongst others. The travel industry is a dynamic one, it changes every day and there aren’t many options, keep up or get left behind! For this reason Jovago Uganda in collaboration with UHOA will be holding some trainings on different sectors in the travel industry at the P.O.A. event.
2. Size up your competition: Regardless of how hard you work, if you aren’t aware of what your competition is doing, you may end up doing zero work. Expos like P.O.A are ideal spaces for you to see what the competition is doing. You could not only learn from their successes but also from their failures. Finding and solving loopholes in your competitor’s strategy will help you build a stronger strategy for your own business.
3. Launch a new product: Expos are the ideal forum to launch a new product. Why? Because your audience is the perfect mix of press, potential or existing clients and industry experts. Launching a product gives you the chance to give a live demonstration, gauge the reactions of your competitors, get feedback as well as gain some media coverage for it. You also get exposed to questions about the product that could help you improve it as well as tailor your marketing strategy.
4. Media interaction: Media coverage is extremely important for any business in this day and age. We are working in the digital age; the right tweet could make you, the wrong article could break you. Use the media coverage to your advantage; talk to as many journalists as you can, explain your product in detail and ask for feedback. Positive media interaction is always a plus.
5. Market research: Take the opportunity to find out what people think about your product, what they think could help you make it better, what they love about it all to your advantage. Make use of the advantage that face-to-face interaction gives. After all, tourism is a service industry, this helps you perfect skills used when serving clients.
