Travel News Europe - #89 - December 2008 - (Page 22)

n exhibitions TRAVEL NEWS EUROPE ITTFA ExhIBITIONS CALENDAR INTErNATIONAL TOurIsM TrADE fAIrs AssOCIATION Unaudited figures reveal that WTM visitors increased by 12% in 2008. Total participants increased by 4% to reach 50,246. 26,498 trade delegates attended (compared to 23,722 in 2007). The number of exhibiting companies increased 4% to 5,631. Fiona Jeffery, WTM chairman comments: “This result demonstrates that in these tough times, it is absolutely necessary for senior and middle management to come together, to conduct business and identify new contacts and markets, and also to discuss, debate and address the challenges ahead. 2009 will be tough, but we hope WTM has helped business secure a safer and more successful course for the future. Delivering record numbers of trade visitors and exhibitors, many new faces, destinations, companies and media was key in fulfilling our promise to the global industry. We also attracted some of the world’s leading economic, industry and highly specialist experts to advise delegates [through] hundreds of seminars, presentations, workshops, press conferences, meetings and debates.” Jeffery added that the results demonstrated the success of WTM’s new admission policy, which ensured a quieter first day for exhibitors to focus on especially important business contacts, while carefully targeted Attendance Up At World Travel Market 2008 business events spread the number of trade visitors attending throughout the remainder of the week, allowing exhibitors to maximise their presence and resource. A highlight was the increasing success of Technology and Online Travel exhibitors, which saw more than 9% growth with 11 new exhibitors. The UK & Ireland area welcomed 20 new exhibitors, up 4% and the number of exhibitors from the Middle East and the Americas was also up. Overall, there were nearly 100 new exhibitors. Ministers’ Summit More than 200 Ministers and senior aides attended the second UNWTO Summit. The top-level gathering, which brought together the largest number of tourism Ministers anywhere in the world, examined how to respond to the economic downturn without losing sight of priorities such as climate change and poverty reduction. “The outcome of these summit discussions will penetrate government thinking and policy for the tourism industry in years to come,” said Jeffery. WTM World Responsible Tourism Day with a challenging, thought provoking and extended programme. “[The aim is] to encourage every travel company, operator, hotel and destination to take real action and show consumers that we not only care about the sustainability of Planet Earth but also the communities that are negatively affected by mass tourism. Making tourism responsible is one of the biggest challenges that the industry faces today and with the rise in ethical thinking, consumers [expect] the industry to take a lead. Much is being done, but not enough. As the industry recognises the long term importance of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day, the day is gaining strength and supporters,” said Jeffery. ITTFA Calendar EIBTM – Barcelona 2 – 4 December 2008 www.eibtm.com MATKA – Helsink – 15 – 18 January 2009 www.matkamessut.fi BTL – Lisbon, Portugal 21 – 25 January 2009 www.btl.fil.pt SLOVAKIATOUR – Bratislava, Slovak Republic 22 – 25 January 2009 www.incheba.sk Tourism & Leisure TIP – Ljubljana, Slovenia 22 – 25 January 2009 www.tourism-fair.com Holiday World – Prague, Czech Republic 5 – 8 february 2009 www.holidayworld.cz Utazas – Budapest, Hungary 26 february – 1 March 2009 www.ift-belgrade.com Global Economic Forum The world’s most ambitious global day of action got tougher this year At the WTM Global Economic Forum, senior management were helped with business planning for 2010 and 2011 by some of the world’s foremost economic brains. There was also a plea to governments not to tax the life out of the travel and tourism industry. JeanClaude Baumgarten, President of World Travel and Tourism Council, implored: “Don’t overcharge, overtax, surcharge - let this industry help you to restart your economies.” Exhibition News Where the travel business is happening TIP, Slovenia next month Special Issue FITUR Madrid New ITTFA member for 2009, Tourism & Leisure Show (TIP) opens its doors again 22 – 25 January 2009. The event showcases a complete range of offers from businesses involved in tourism and leisure. TIP 2009 will include Slovenian tourism offerings from individual destinations, international destinations and tourism services providers, leisure activities, i.e. golf, cycling, surfing etc tourism, and concurrent events the Boat Show and international business tourism exchange, Conventa. At TIP 2008, 542 businesses from 25 countries exhibited in 13,000sqm of exhibition space. The event was visited by around 26,000 visitors in 4 days. UITM The 15th Ukraine International Travel Market (UITM) took place at the 22 TRAVEL NEWS EUROPE International Exhibition Center in Kyiv in October, hosting around 600 companies from 40 countries. The Seychelles, Mauritius and Macedonia exhibited for the first time. National set-ups formed a significant part of the exhibition, with Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Spain, Cyprus, Macedonia, Malaysia, Poland, Thailand, Finland, Czech Republic exhibiting their travel services. Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture & Tourism made every effort to increase the quality of the Ukrainian tourism destinations section to match international standards – ‘It’s time to holiday in Ukraine’ was the biggest set-up ever. UITM’s importance for the national tourism industry, especially during this preparation period for EURO 2012 was emphasised in the opening ceremony speeches. December 2008 Utazas 2009 Utazas 2008 hosted 912 exhibitors, of which 212 were international, from 49 countries. At Utzas 2009, all Hungarian exhibitors will be grouped together and arranged by theme in the new and modern Pavilion G. Greece will be the ‘Guest of Honour ’, Japan the ‘Promising Destination’ with cultural tourism as the ‘Key Domestic Theme’. In the ‘Experience Pavilion’, children will be entertained with games and events in the ‘Play Castle’; ‘Holiday Island’ is a travel accessories fair; and the Greek Taverna will offer Mediterranean delicacies. In terms of advertising, Utazas 2009 organisers are mainly targeting families’ main travel decision makers – women, through the internet, TV & radio campaigns, posters, adverts in newspapers, and more. DESTINATIONS: China, Macau BUSINESS: ski, Car Hire TRAVEL NEWS EUROPE www.travelnewseurope.com http://www.eibtm.com http://www.matkamessut.fi http://www.btl.fil.pt http://www.incheba.sk http://www.tourism-fair.com http://www.holidayworld.cz http://www.ift-belgrade.com http://www.travelnewseurope.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Travel News Europe - #89 - December 2008

Cover
Contents
NEWS
DESTINATIONS - Cyprus
�- Singapore
BUSINESS - MICE
�- Cyprus MICE
Luxury Travel
Exhibitions

Travel News Europe - #89 - December 2008