Gas, hotel and airfare costs expected to whack trade show attendance

Hikes in gas prices, airfares and costs of hotels are having an impact on magazine events, particularly trade shows, according to a story carried by Folio: While trade and consumer shows are the major growth area for U.S. magazine publishers' revenues, a recent survey of the Society of Independent Show Organizers found 41% of respondents expected to see a 10% reduction in expo attendance over the next 12 months.

• 50 percent of respondents says they are moderately concerned about increased travel costs on their event business;
  
• 39 percent are greatly concerned; and
  
• 11 percent are modestly concerned.
  

And it's not just expositions and conferences. Buyer-seller events-in which the publisher recruits a select audience for a sponsor (and covers much of the attendees' cost)-have gained in popularity in recent years but may no longer be as economically viable. "We pay our attendees way so it's hurting our budgets dramatically," said one respondent.

And with most event venues booked at least a year (and often several years) in advance, re-evaluating attendee revenue can be especially painful. "Mostly I am downgrading my attendee revenue estimates and managing expectations related to attendance," says Scott Wolters, director of tradeshows and conferences at BNP Media.

Publishers are not only cutting costs by sticking to regional and one-day events, but doing less outsourcing and offering bigger discounts for early registration, allowing them to secure cheaper block hotel prices, the story said.

Still, the reality is attendees are limiting their travel. "People are not going as deep into their organizations as they used to as far as bringing a number of attendees," says Galen Poss, president of Hanley Wood's Exhibitions Division. "They used to bring seven or eight people. Now they bring four or five. Instead of staying three or four days, they stay two days."