04.05.2026 Trade fair tourism
Published on 04.05.2026 in Tiit Lepik’s mailing list (in Estonian). The original letter in Smaily
In connection with work I came across trade fair tourism again. As a former tourism worker I tried to grasp the essence of the thing.
Trade fair tourism the Estonian way is relatively simple. Anyone going on the trip needs to tick two important boxes on the list of things to prepare for a trade fair trip or a conference. These ticks guarantee the success of the trip. The trip will then quite probably fulfil its purpose.
The first tick — the most important. You must have a "presentation" with you. Few have bothered to look up on the internet what the word presentation means. Nobody cares even what is written in the presentation. The presentation is the most important thing. If you tell your boss you have a presentation with you, he will pay the travel costs.
The second tick — also very important. It needs professional planning, especially for air travel. This tick guarantees the practical success of the trip. You must check that you have "a case of cognac" with you.
As always, there are exceptions. Now and then, rarely, a white crow ends up in the company of Estonian trade fair tourists — a person who has no boss. If you pay your own bills, the situation is a little harder.
At my workplace, Katevara, we have been working for some time on the reuse of flat roofs. In connection with the IFAT 2026 environmental technology fair in Munich we had to put the contacts of the team of this line of work online. There is a fair, and planes and hotels.
