Trade shows serve an integral function in the growth of many businesses. They are an opportunity for businesses to sell and market their product to retailers and enthusiasts with a particular interest in their market. There is increased attention being paid in the media and in the culture in general to the importance of entrepreneurship and supporting the starting of businesses, and as a result people are increasingly fascinated with what it would be like to exhibit a product at a trade show.

The trade shows themselves, however, are interesting feats of organization and planning as well. The logistical skill necessary to host any trade show, let alone one of the massive trade shows we will be looking at in this post, is an impressive display of event planning. With the increased focus on businesses, trade shows have had to increase their focus on providing a successful setting for business to take place. They have done this in several ways. Many trade shows today provide not just the physical setting for the event, but also the physical equipment for exhibitors and attendees to feel that the show was an efficient use of their time. Of course, impressing hundreds of businesspeople and savvy customers with efficiency is no easy task.

One piece of equipment these events and organizations are supplying to vendors is called a tradeshow badge scanner. These pieces of equipment are rented by the show and provided to vendors, or sometimes rented by the vendors themselves. This piece of equipment helps them more easily keep track of data acquired at the conference related to sales and sales leads by allowing interested parties to simply scan a barcoded badge. It’s just one of the innovations you would find at the following trade shows, which are among the largest in the world.

Buenos Aires International Book Fair

The Buenos Aires International Book Fair in Argentina is attended annually by publishing and literary industry professionals as well as bookworms of the general public. In the spring of 2008, this trade show attracted over 1.2 million visitors over a period of multiple weeks from late April to early May. Many famous authors have visited the event, and it is usually a time and place chosen by many writers, publishers, editors, educators, librarians and others involved professionally with books to hold their annual seminars, meetings or conferences.  The Buenos Aires International Book fair has been operating for over 40 years, beginning in 1975.

AGRO

AGRO is an annual Ukranian exhibition of agricultural equipment. It is organized by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and held in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. First held in 1988, the expo has hosted more than a hundred thousand people in just one year. Its popularity owes to the prominence of the agricultural sector of Ukraine, which demonstrates the connection between trade shows and the economy as a whole. It is attended by those working or interested in the agriculture, agricultural machinery, livestock farming and food industries of Ukraine.

Tokyo Motor Show

The Tokyo Motor Show is held on a biannual basis in the late fall in Tokyo, Japan. The auto press considers this show to be among the most notable and important trade shows in the auto industry, with other prominent shows held in Paris, Detroit, Geneva and Frankfurt. The show is distinguished from even the other large auto trade shows for its focus on conceptual automobiles as opposed to production automobiles The Tokyo Motor Show began in 1954 and has hosted, in one year of the show, over 1.5 million people.