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Mr Peter de Jong, PATA President
and CEO, informed media at a press conference at the Arabian
Travel Market that the 2003 PATA Travel Mart is 90% certain of
being held in Singapore.
Mr de Jong is attending the
Arabian Travel Market to build relationships and enhance the
growth of business between the Gulf and Asia Pacific regions.
The PATA Travel Mart which was
held earlier this year in Singapore, closed amongst much media speculation
about the future of the show which is celebrating its 25
anniversary. A task force was especially set up to
discuss the workings of the mart and how best to fine tune it,
to ensure that it re-establishes itself as a "must
attend" event. (see
article here)
Mr de Jong said that a decision
should be made within the next three weeks, but that it is
highly likely that the 2003 travel mart will take place in
Singapore. Limited rotation has not been ruled out and when
asked which countries were being looked at, to possibly share
the show, Mr. de Jong said that it may be interesting to
consider India, China, New Zealand and / or Australia along
with Singapore.
The timing of the mart which has
traditionally been held each year in April, has come under
much discussion, with some quarters saying that it is too close
to the ITB (March), and ATF (January). Mr De Jong said that the
timing of the show may well be changed, but that as yet, a
firm decision has not been made. He said that mid
September was an option that was being looked at.
The Pacific Asia region does need
its own travel mart, as the only other main International
event, the ATF, is limited to ASEAN countries, and both Reed
and PATA are committed to ensuring that this is what the PATA
Travel Mart delivers, a show that the worlds travel trade pencils into
their schedules without question. As Mr de Jong said,
"The PATA Travel Mart is the signature event of our
association and will be our signature event in the
future." The PATA Travel Mart though has a very strict
entrance policy that tries to attract quality rather than
quantity and when compared to other highly successful shows
such as the Arabian Travel Market, WTM, ITB and others, this is
one difference that stands out, as the other shows attract and
allow both quantity and quality.
Singapore as a venue cannot be
beaten but the idea of a limited rotation would be widely
welcomed by many in the industry, as it allows buyers, sellers
and media, to see and learn about new destinations first hand.
Whether the actual month that the show takes place is as
important as some make out, is open to debate, but changing the
dates could have varied effects. A show called the ITA tried
to launch a regional travel trade mart in September and has
already ceased operations, there is also the highly successful
Mediterranean Travel Fair in Egypt and the much smaller, TIME,
in Jakarta which all take place in September. The
PATA Travel Mart undoubtedly has a very exciting future in
promoting tourism to one of the most exciting tourism regions
in the world, and
confirmation on the 2003 mart is eagerly awaited. |
