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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.
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.
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2013 |
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| January |
16 - 20 |
2013 |
FITUR |
Madrid, Spain |
| January |
22 - 24 |
2013 |
ATF |
Vientiane, Laos |
| February |
26 - 27 |
2013 |
AIME |
Melbourne,
Australia |
| March |
6 - 8 |
2013 |
ITB |
Berlin, Germany |
| March |
11 - 13 |
2013 |
ILTM
Japan |
Kyoto, Japan |
| March |
25 - 27 |
2013 |
GIBTM |
Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| April |
8 - 9 |
2013 |
ILTM Africa |
Cape Town, South
Africa |
| April |
17 - 19 |
2013 |
IT&CM China |
Shanghai, China |
| April |
23 - 25 |
2013 |
WTM - Latin America |
Sao Paulo, Brazil |
| May |
6 - 9 |
2013 |
Arabian Travel Market |
Dubai, UAE |
| June |
3 - 6 |
2013 |
ILTM Asia |
Shanghai, China |
| June |
5 - 7 |
2013 |
Thailand Travel Mart + |
Nonthaburi,
Thailand |
| June |
11 - 13 |
2013 |
AIBTM |
Chicago, USA |
| August |
20 - 22 |
2013 |
IT&CM India |
Delhi, India |
| September |
2 - 4 |
2013 |
CIBTM |
Beijing, China |
| September |
2 - 4 |
2013 |
Luxe Events + Travel Experiences (LETE) |
Sydney, Australia |
| September |
2 - 4 |
2013 |
Luxperience 2013 |
Sydney, Australia |
| September |
12 - 14 |
2013 |
IBTM |
Mumbai, India |
| September |
12 - 15 |
2013 |
JATA |
Tokyo, Japan |
| September |
24 - 27 |
2013 |
IFTM Top Resa |
Paris, France |
| September |
25 - 27 |
2013 |
PATA Travel Mart |
Chengdu, China |
| September |
30 - 2 |
2013 |
ILTM Spa |
London, England |
| September |
30 - 3 |
2013 |
ILTM Americas |
Mayakoba, Mexico |
| October |
18 - 21 |
2013 |
TIME |
Padang, Indonesia |
| October |
23 - 25 |
2013 |
ITB Asia |
Suntec, Singapore |
| November |
4 - 7 |
2013 |
WTM |
London, England |
| November |
6 - 7 |
2013 |
BTM |
London, England |
| November |
11 - 14 |
2013 |
IGTM |
Costa Dorado,
Spain |
| November |
19 - 21 |
2013 |
EIBTM |
Barcelona, Spain |
| December |
2 - 5 |
2013 |
ILTM |
Cannes, France |
| |
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2014 |
|
| January |
16 - 23 |
2014 |
ATF |
Kuching, Malaysia |
| February |
21 - 22 |
2014 |
AIME |
Melbourne,
Australia |
| March |
5 - 9 |
2014 |
ITB |
Berlin, Germany |
| March |
9 - 11 |
2014 |
Routes Asia |
Kuching, Malaysia |
| March |
24 - 27 |
2014 |
ILTM Japan |
Japan |
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.
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