Business tourism – organization features
Business tourism is an important and rather complex industry of tourism business. High responsibility, attention to detail and the ability to quickly and efficiently navigate in case of possible roughness during the trip are the key skills that a manager organizing a business trip should have. From other types of tourism, business differs primarily in the monetary component of the issue: the multimillion-dollar profit (or, conversely, loss) of the company sometimes depends on how well the trip will turn out, so the risks here are increased, and disorder and reckoning “maybe” are categorically unacceptable. Like any other type of tourism – from sightseeing and beach to shopping and medical – business has its own important organization features, subtly depending on the direction, season, goals and many other factors of the trip. We will tell about key subtleties of organizing business tourism.
We are going to the exhibition
Exhibitions are one of the main segments of business tourism. Up to 30 thousand exhibitions of various subjects are held annually in the world, where businessmen can communicate with colleagues, learn about the latest in their industry and conclude contracts.
As a rule, the professionals of each individual business sector are well aware of the time and the location of thematic exhibitions and come to the travel agent with a specific request: I want to go there on certain dates. Such preparedness simplifies the task well, but at the same time complicates it: dates are strictly fixed, late for a day or problems with resettlement will negate all the advantages of a personal visit.
When organizing a business visit to the exhibition, it is important first of all to take care of the formal possibility of the client visiting this exhibition (having a visa, issuing a pass, buying a ticket, accreditation, having the necessary documents), living near the exhibition complex and making air or train tickets available for dates. You need to book such a trip as early as possible: imagine that in addition to your client, a couple of tens of thousands of businessmen with similar goals are planning to settle in the nearest hotels. Similarly, it’s better not to delay applying for a visa and visiting the exhibition complex – if one of the points is tight, the trip is likely to fail, as we already said, possibly depriving the businessman and company of solid profit.
Private business trips are not necessary at all during peak dates (and the clients themselves tend to avoid hype), which means that you have more opportunities to book the most suitable hotel and convenient flight.
Private business trip
The organization of a private business trip is much more grateful to exhibition tourism. Firstly, as a rule, there are no clear dates on which your client simply must be in place. Colleagues and partners are usually willing to make progress in planning meetings, understanding the complexity of the business – the world of high speeds and time pressure. Secondly, the schedule of the trip itself can also be moved, and the appointed meetings can be swapped, unlike the obligatory exhibition “chase” of the stands and exhibitors and the need to adjust to the schedule of meetings with a potential partner. Finally, it is not necessary to conduct private business trips on peak dates (and clients themselves tend to avoid hype), which means that you have more opportunities to book the most suitable hotel and convenient flight.
If the business travel dates are flexible, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the schedule of exhibitions, cultural events and sporting events in the region in order to choose a quiet time for the trip.
However, organizing a private trip is fraught with other difficulties – in particular, the need to fill the client’s limited time visit with the maximum possible useful pastime. This means that planning should be verified by the hour, and in case of cancellation of any event, this time should not be lost.
Congresses and Conferences
The organization of congresses and conferences is a large-scale work in which, unwittingly, one has to rely on partners – exhibition complexes and hotels. If during a private business visit almost all the responsibility lies with you, you can’t do without close interaction here – which means that your partners must be 100% reliable.
A conference or congress is a large-scale business event for specialists of a certain industry, as a rule, uniting colleagues from around the world or at least from a specific region.
At the same time, each participant in this event requires an active contribution to the common cause – making a report, lecture or presentation. At least a few experts usually go to congresses together, so you will be dealing with a group. It is necessary to book airline tickets for one flight, organize customers in one hotel in an organized manner, and also provide access to events. Of course, you need to make sure in advance that visas, if required, are present in all conference participants.
