Ivan LimThis one’s for all you internet-savvy young (or young-at-heart) people out there.
“What travel fair?”
“Why would I want to squeeze with the crowds and jostle for space when I can find all the information I need on the internet?”
“Really got discounts cheaper than online deals meh?”
Well, according to the hoards of people swarming Singapore Expo year after year, even after the proliferation of the World Wide Web, there seems to be a sweet spot about travel fairs that can’t be found online.
And what’s that? Read on my dear friends.
Why You Should Go
1. Hear it from the tourism boards themselves
Without any bias to sell tour packages from any agencies, the representatives from the tourism boards are usually the best people to find out more about the destinations you’re interested in. Pop in for a little chat with the passionate representatives from the country you’re interested in, and you might get some valuable advice that you can’t find on Google.
2. Cos we love freebies
Image credit: Wikipedia
Free suitcases! And luggage tags! And adaptors for your phones and tablets and laptops… Travel fairs are when banks and travel agencies collaborate to dish out the best deals for potential travellers. Since you have already set your eye on that vacation, why not get a free gift to go with it? Sure beats having nothing if you book everything online right?
3. Competition yo
Image credit: Wikipedia
It’s the same logic as lining a street full of bubble tea shops one after another. The close proximity of the travel agents housed under one roof is certain to induce some competition where they try to match their competitors’ prices for tours on the same route. Their loss, our gain, right?
4. One stop shop convenience
Apart from getting useful verbal information from the staff of the tourism boards and the travel agents, pick up some informational maps and brochures. The online equivalent of course, is to open a million tabs and then get confused in the sea of information. You can also get travel insurance settled on the same day without having to go through the hassle of doing it online another time. Oh one last thing, if you want to buy travel accessories, the travel fairs’ got you covered too (if you haven’t already got them for free)! 😛
How To Score The Best Deal
1. Be prepared
Image credit: geralt
In my humble opinion, travel fairs and online travel research should compliment each other. Read up on your destinations before heading down to the fair. Browse through the brochures and flyers (here for the Travel Revolution Fair and here for the NATAS Travel Fair; to be populated closer to fair date) Otherwise, go with an open mind and who knows what surprising good deals you might bag?
2. Don’t assume
Yes it’s a travel fair but that’s not a guarantee for the best prices. Do your price research for your dream destinations to allow for easy price comparison and better decisions at the travel fair. Don’t worry about having to check different sites too. Just use TripZilla for a quick glance at the various destination packages’ rates. You can get a rough gauge from there.
3. Strategize and conquer
Image credit: Johannes Lundberg
This is very important and ties in to the earlier point of being prepared. As you research, find out which travel agencies sell the plans that suits your style of travelling and having generally good reviews. Travel fairs are usually huge and the bright lights and decorations might result in you constantly being attracted to various booths.
Beat information overload and fatigue by following our battle plan. First, download the fair’s floorplan and mark out the booths you are keen to visit. Next, go for the kill (metaphorically of course). Remember, window-shopping too much will make you lose your focus and you may just end up with an impulsive buy that’s totally not the point of travel fairs at all.
4. Round up your allies
Family outing? Paktor? Spend a couple of hours at the travel fair and you might learn more about your loved ones’ travel anecdotes. They could give you reviews about the places or tours they’ve gone before, and of course, stop you before you make any rash impulsive purchase.
Now who’s raring to go for the upcoming Travel Revolution Fair and the NATAS Travel Fair? From experience, all the awesome deals tend to get snatched up really fast, so be sure to go early!
