ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the extent to which it is possible to measure the outcomes of the Expos. Country week (CW) Expo is a major and costly event for many of the local councils in NSW and in the Queensland. Financial costs, plus the time and energy involved in the preparation, participation, follow-up and evaluation, and their opportunity costs, raised questions about the benefits of the promotion, whether there were more effective mechanisms and whether existing promotion worked. A brief visit to a show is unlikely to instantly turn an urban resident into a definite migrant, and the CW staff sought to communicate this to participating councils. Securing a place on the mental maps was a crucial first step. Ensuring that visitors take at least another step forward was thus a key theme, but the Expo was only one of the many stages, influences and turning points on the way.
