Power Networking While Touring the World

 I spoke at the National Tour Association Conference this past week in Reno. The travel industry has been hit hard by the Great Recession and in real need of Bounce! This is a conference of tour operators (they package the tours and sell to consumers or travel agents) and the suppliers (destinations, local guides etc). The heart of this conference is not the trade show or the keynotes, but the one on one meetings that go on between the tour operators and the suppliers. Behind the exhibits, there are rows and rows of assigned areas where the the two parties make appointments and meet. BTW- the sign “No appointments available” is a good thing! Alot of business gets done here. It kind of looks like speed dating. This “facilitated networking” is a model that more trade shows should adapt since left on our own, all most of us do is exchange business cards at these events and do not have meaningful conversations that move the relationship forward.

What type of speed networking has been successful for you?