The conceptual framework for our analysis is the approach to environmental psychology first introduced by different authors in 1974. Subsequently in 1982 this concept was applied to retail outlets so as to better understand the effect on consumers of atmospheric stimuli experienced in a physical store. Following the developing trend from traditional marketing to new online sales channels, various authors have sought to transfer and validate these theories with virtual outlets or e-stores, so as to validate them in a context of e-commerce. Our study thoroughly analyses and reviews the most widely accepted models in the study of the influence of sales atmospherics on consumer behavior in physical store environments, and the adaptation and application of such models to today’s omnichannel shopper behavior, where shopping environments combine physical sales settings with new digital sales atmospheres.

The hypothetical mix of relationship marketing and transactional marketing perspectives is a major theme in the general literature that should be researched in relation to tourism and travel shows. This issue is addressed in the present paper which analyses the effect of managing relationships among three partners (trade organizer, exhibitor and end customer) on the exhibitor's performance during the fair, and comparing that effect with the influence of transactional marketing management, in which business performance depends on conventional tools. The results point to an overbalance on the side of transactional marketing in the case of tourism and travel exhibitors. By contrast, in the case of the business-to-business relationship between trade show organizers and exhibitors, the weight of relationship marketing seems to be comparatively higher and, most relevant, to affect the exhibitor's performance in terms of their business with end customers during the show.

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