text: WelDest Health and Well-Being in Tourism Destination: Fair trade show?
  Every year in January, I spend a couple of days in Vienna. Not for my own pleasure, but to work at the fair "Ferienmesse Wien". I present our holiday destination Attergau as good as I can, distributing pamphlets hoping that I inspire the fair visitor for a stay in the Attergau. Thousands of people are visiting the travel exhibition every year and it is part of our marketing strategy, hypothetical spoken...
  Looking back makes me gonna reconsider: is a fair really the right place to attract new guests for my very lovely destination? Truth is that the travel exhibition is next to Dr. Oetker muffins, wine stations and cooking shows not the main attraction any more. Most of the people are looking out for free give aways and competitions.
  Do not get me wrong: Visitors are interested in our destination and keep asking for further information, but they already used to spend a holiday in our destination, have friends there or they grew up in this place and want to gossip. It is a fact that less than 1% is making their holiday decision due to a fair visit. So going to a fair is the right medium to keep in touch with your returning guests, but get rid of the illusion of new guests coming to your resort. At least in Vienna.