For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), access to international buyers is only half the battle. The harder challenge may be converting a tradeshow introduction into sustained commercial business.
Rob Hetem, T-Cubed Consulting Director and SATSA Special Projects Lead, told Tourism Update access to a buyer or trade platform does not mean a business is ready to convert that opportunity into sustainable commercial activity.
“The meeting is a lead, not a commercial outcome. Conversion is often prevented by poor buyer-supplier matching, unclear differentiation, unsustainable pricing, slow follow-up, inadequate sales material, limited understanding of contracting cycles and the absence of structured support once the exhibition ends.”
While many international buyers are eager to work with SMEs, the most pressing concern is whether the supplier will present an unacceptable risk to the traveller, reputation or supply chain, Hetem pointed out.
“Tourism is a trust economy in which the integrity and credibility relationship is the currency.”
Hetem said this makes support beyond the tradeshow floor critical. SMEs need assistance ranging from readiness assessments and buyer preparation to follow-up, contracting and commercial conversion.
“Sustained coaching and, particularly, mentorship are game changers for us. We’ve seen that helping participants apply learning to real commercial situations fast-tracks compliance, solves operational problems and builds the confidence and systems required for long-term sustainability.”
Olivia Gradidge, Marketing Manager for World Travel Market Africa and International Luxury Travel Market Africa, similarly argued that the value of a tradeshow cannot be measured by meetings held during the event.
“Business often doesn’t happen immediately after a meeting. These relationships often develop over months. Building trust takes time, particularly in tourism where long-term partnerships are so important. Exhibitions open the door but it’s the ongoing relationship management that ultimately converts those introductions into business.
“Businesses also need practical support before attending an exhibition and after returning home and this is a shared responsibility.”
This support, Gradidge said, cannot come from exhibition organisers alone. Governments and tourism authorities have a role in building SME capability while industry associations can provide standards, best practice and peer learning. Exhibition organisers provide the market access.
Some organisations are already providing this type of support. SATSA’s Tourism Business Incubator, for example, provides emerging businesses with mentorship, business development guidance and access to industry expertise.
Likewise, Hetem cited the collaboration between the 12-month National Mentorship Movement, the TBCSA, the Department of Tourism and SATSA as a strong example of focused and sustained mentorship accelerating compliance, commercial readiness and sustainability rather than treating market access as a once-off exhibition opportunity.
But there may be another link between SMEs and international buyers that comes before the tradeshow: destination management companies (DMCs).
David Frost, CEO of SATSA, suggested that SMEs could improve their chances of securing international business by first getting their products into the portfolios of DMCs.
“Once an SME is included in a DMC’s portfolio, it has a far better chance of being packaged into international itineraries and brochures.”
Frost proposed holding a dedicated SME-DMC matchmaking event ahead of major tradeshows, followed by workshops, mentorship and training. The approach would allow SMEs to address some of the readiness gaps before they reach the international buyer stage while allowing DMCs to identify products that can be incorporated into their programmes.
Tradeshows may therefore be most effective when treated not as a standalone opportunity but as one stage in a longer pathway from product readiness and relationship building to market access and, ultimately, bookings.
