Calendar of Events - Travel Trade Shows and Exhibitions

List of leading travel trade shows and exhibitions with respective dates and venues

As we receive many requests for advice as to what the top / best travel trade shows in the world are, we try to answer this query as best we can below with a brief summary of the main shows and links through to more in-depth analysis of the events.

Be sure to also check out our Latest Travel News section with all the latest news from trade shows, airlines, hotels etc.

The ITB held each year in Berlin, is the biggest travel trade show in the world and a must for anyone in the travel industry. Book flights and accommodation well in advance as Berlin gets very busy. The second largest is the WTM in London which is held annually in November, this is again another very big show and is a worthwhile show to attend. The EIBTM and IMEX are without a doubt the best Incentive shows in the world although AIME and IT&CMA are also good events aimed at the MICE market but with a more Asia Pacific flavour.

Another must attend event is the Arabian Travel Market, which is an excellent show especially if you are interested in selling the Middle East or attracting customers from the wealthy Middle Eastern markets. The Arabian Travel Market grows in size each year and has become a great meeting place for many within the industry from all over the world. The show will only continue to increase as the Middle East markets finally begin to open themselves to tourists. To make the most of this show try and do a little pre-show work and get to know who you want to meet. It is also an idea to try and do sales trips after or before the show to some surrounding areas such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain etc.

For Asia, there has traditionally been two major shows in the region. The ASEAN Tourism Forum, or ATF as it is more commonly known, and also the PATA Travel Mart. In recent years the ATF has seen somewhat of a rebound and is fast becoming the "must attend" event it once was. Rotating between different ASEAN countries every January the ATF is an excellent show for the industry to see the best of what ASEAN and the region as a whole has to offer.

In 2008, Messe Berlin the organisers of the mammoth ITB Berlin, put their full weight behind the inaugural ITB Asia. Over the years, it has grown and grown, and is now linked with TravelRave which is Singapore Tourism Board's week-long travel industry "festival". TravelRave attracts some very exciting events, such as Aviation Outlook Asia, Hotel Technology Conference, Tourism Destination Investment Conference, WIT, Asia Travel Leaders Summit as well as the World Travel Awards and Singapore Experience Awards. Plus, in 2010 and 2011, there was the extremely interesting Conde Nast Traveler World Savers Congress. This all sounds great doesn't it? And it is, but it is too much. These events, and let's not forget they are not part of ITB Asia, are big enough to attract big numbers by themselves, but by cramming them all into the period of a week, you - whether you are media, or a delegate - must choose between them. From a media perspective, unless you are like the BBC or CNN, and able to send sufficient journalists to report on them all, then you are going to miss out, and that is a shame, as some of these conferences are very important to their respective industries. And, while you are attending those events, ITB Asia is being held at the same time. So should you attend the ITB Asia? A difficult question to answer. If it had stood on its own two feet, linked up with ITB Berlin from an exhibitor perspective - something it has said it is looking at since it started in 2008, and grown through its quality hosted buyer programme etc. then I would have to say yes. But, and this is a very big but, it has been surpassed by the quality of events that take place at the same time. This means that you may be more interested in some of the high profile conferences, than you are in the trade show. Organisers will tell you that this is what happens at WTM and ITB Berlin, and that is true. But those two shows are "must attend" events that established themselves and grew over many years. ITB Asia was only established in 2008, and has yet to earn "must attend" status.

Another important travel trade show is the JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase. This trade show has the ambitious aim of becoming the biggest in Asia. With Japan being such an important outbound market, even with the weak global economy, then this will always be one of the most important events on a calendar year. Traditionally JATA and the World Travel Fair, also in Tokyo, rotated annually. Now they have combined, and two years ago they set up an inbound component to the show. This was very big news, as JATA had always been about the important, and lucrative, outbound market, and, had pretty much ignored the inbound. But with the weak global economy, the country had to start looking for new revenue streams, and of course one of them is tourism. The show still has a long way to go - not necessarily in size, but in organisation, but it is definitely heading in the right direction. The JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase takes place annually in September, and is a show you should attend. There are many delegates not just from Japan but also, Asia Pacific and around the world. See: HD Videos from JATA 2012.

If you are interested in Asia as a buyer or to exhibit then really the main shows you should consider are the ATF, possibly ITB Asia and JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase.

If you manage a travel or travel trade show which is not listed, or you would like more info on one of the travel shows below please send us the information by contacting us.

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In addition to the major travel shows listed above, there are also hundreds, if not thousands of conference events, which cover every topic imaginable. These conference-type events are not exhibitions, instead they tend to have speakers, panels and discussion groups, and can be very expensive to attend. As with anything, some are useful, but the majority are just pure money making exercises. We have attended some, which while very interesting, were not worth the thousands of dollars that the organiser was trying to charge. Some events have so many speakers that their entire audience is made up of speakers!

To combat this growing trend, a lot of the leading travel trade shows such as the ITB Berlin, ITB Asia, WTM, JATA Tourism Forum & Travel Showcase, ATM, ATF etc have conferences attached to the show, some are official and some not, so do check with the organiser what conferences are available. These conferences, which are attached to the trade shows, are generally of a higher quality than stand alone events and also enable you to save money and time by doing both at the same time.

See other recent news regarding: Airlines, Airline Traffic, Airports, Awards, Flights, Codeshare, FFP, Inflight, Lounges, First Class, Business Class, MICE, GDS, Rewards, Miles, Hotels, Apartments, Promotions, Spas, Yoga, Retreat, New Hotels, Traffic, Visitor Arrivals, Cruises, Free Deals, RevPAR, Interviews, Pictures, Sports Tourism, Videos.