A survey reported by Travel Weekly finds that travel advisors prefer smaller events, a result that carries direct implications for how suppliers, host agencies and tourism boards spend their trade marketing budgets.

The finding matters because advisor-facing events are a core distribution channel. Hotel chains, tour operators, destination marketing organizations and host agency networks allocate significant portions of their trade budgets to conferences, trade shows and familiarization events. If advisors themselves favor smaller formats, that money may work harder in intimate settings than in large expo halls.

What does the preference signal for suppliers?

A stated preference for smaller events suggests suppliers should weigh the return of mega-trade shows against targeted regional gatherings, small-group education sessions and one-on-one appointment formats. For sellers of travel, the survey result is a prompt to interrogate where commission-generating relationships actually form.

The preference aligns with a broader pattern in trade distribution: advisors repeatedly cite relationship depth, product training and direct access to supplier representatives as the drivers of bookings, rather than booth traffic at scale.

How should trade marketers respond?

Suppliers and DMOs reading the survey can consider several responses:

• Rebalance event budgets toward regional and small-format gatherings.
• Prioritize appointment-based formats over open-floor expos.
• Measure trade event ROI in bookings and commission volume, not attendance counts.

What the survey does not settle

A preference stated in a survey is not a measured shift in spend. It does not establish that large events fail to produce bookings, only that advisors say they favor smaller settings. Suppliers should test the finding against their own booking attribution data before reallocating budgets wholesale.

Travel Weekly's report signals that event format is now a live question for trade marketing strategy, and suppliers planning their 2025–2026 advisor engagement calendars will likely face growing pressure to justify large-format spending against smaller, higher-touch alternatives.