Preparation of all the equipment to be brought: you should not forget anything but not bring too much either, the exhibition stand is small (4m²). Everything was loaded the day before, for part on Friday morning from 6:30 am. We had two teams made up of one person from the groups department and one from the communication department. Emma and I on Friday and Séverine and Nathalie on Saturday.
There are only 4 stands out of 110 exhibitors promoting a tourist destination. If that worried us a little at the beginning, it was a good start because there was less competitor and we were a more ” alien ” stand than those for earpieces, calculation of retirement points, stairlifts or even how to accompany the end-of-life !
Doors opening at 10:00 a.m., waiting line several meters long. Our stand is on the entrance/exit axis of the show. Even if we were in the middle of a strong draught, it was the ideal location to capture a maximum number of visitors.
This 3rd edition received nearly 9,000 visitors. The stand of the tourist office was busy for the 2 days. Our destination, 1:30 from Rennes, met their expectations: a desire to get a change of atmosphere without going too far. Our offer appealed to the over 50s: hiking and cycling, heritage, oenology and wine tourism, sites to visit as a couple, with friends or with small children … We received more than 600 people on the stand for a total of 950 documents circulated: tourist guides and maps, map of the Loire by bike between Angers and Nantes, map of the vineyard by bike, group guides, travel guides in the vineyard, UV Magazine etc…
We were pleasantly surprised because the flow was constant, the visitors were friendly, curious and interested. We really felt welcomed by a public eager to discover beautiful places not far from home. In short, it was a first conclusive experience which encourages us to repeat it… since we will be at the Nantes seniors’ forum on 19th, 20th and 21st next November .