Attending travel trade shows and
conferences is not only time consuming but can be very
costly as well, so choosing which to attend is paramount
to the success of your business.
That was written pre-COVID19, but the
message is even more important today than it was then.
What COVID19 has shown, is that we can
very easily have a face to face meeting over Zoom - or similar
software - without having to pay for a flight, go to the airport,
pass through security, immigration, etc. etc.
With such technology, we can have two or three video meetings
with people all over the world in less time than it would normally
take to travel to the airport from home or the office, and without
all the expense, hassle and time that goes with such a trip.
2023 |
2023 |
2023 |
2-5 February |
ASEAN
Tourism Forum |
Yogyakarta, Indonesia |
13-15 February |
AIME |
Melbourne, Australia |
13-17 February |
AeroIndia |
Bengaluru, India |
14-16 February |
Routes Asia |
Chiang Mai, Thailand |
1-3 March |
Inter Airport Southeast Asia |
Singapore |
7-9 March |
ITB Berlin |
Berlin, Germany |
21-23 March |
Routes Americas |
Chicago, USA |
25-27 April |
Mekong Tourism Forum |
Sihanoukville, Cambodia |
1-4 May |
Arabian Travel Market |
Dubai, UAE |
9-11 May |
Routes Europe |
Łódź, Poland |
9-12 May |
GSTC2023 |
Antalya, Türkiye |
23-27 May |
LIMA |
Langkawi, Malaysia |
31 May - 2 June |
Thailand Travel Mart + |
Bangkok, Thailand |
4-6 June |
IATA AGM and WATS |
Istanbul, Türkiye |
19-22 June |
ILTM Asia |
Singapore |
19-25 June |
Paris Airshow |
Paris, France |
13-15 August |
Take Off North America |
Atlantic, USA |
26-28 September |
IT&CMA / CTW APAC |
Bangkok, Thailand |
?-? October |
Cambodia Travel Mart |
Cambodia |
15-17 October |
Routes World |
Istanbul, Türkiye |
23-24 October |
IMM Asia 2023 |
Singapore |
23-25 October |
HICAP |
Singapore |
25-27 October |
ITB Asia |
Singapore |
1-3 November |
World Connect by APG |
Monaco, France |
6-8 November |
WTM London |
London, England |
12-16 November |
Dubai Airshow |
Dubai, UAE |
4-7 December |
ILTM Cannes |
Cannes, France |
2024 |
2024 |
2024 |
15-19 January |
ASEAN
Tourism Forum |
Vientiane, Laos |
?? |
Routes Asia |
Langkawi, Malaysia |
20-25 February |
Singapore Airshow |
Singapore |
6-9 May |
Arabian Travel Market |
Dubai, UAE |
19-23 May |
Australian Tourism Exchange |
Melbourne, Australia |
22-26 July |
Farnborough Airshow |
Farnborough, England |
24-26 September |
IT&CMA / CTW APAC |
Bangkok, Thailand |
?? |
Routes World |
Bahrain |
?-? October |
Cambodia Travel Mart |
Cambodia |
?? November |
WTM London |
London, England |
10-12 December |
MEBAA |
Dubai, UAE |
2025 |
2025 |
2025 |
23-25 September |
IT&CMA / CTW APAC |
Bangkok, Thailand |
2026 |
2026 |
2026 |
Even before COVID19, we at TravelNewsAsia.com
were cutting down on shows, selecting just a few where it is
possible to meet sellers who would not normally be easy to reach
as they do not have large enough budgets to attend and exhibit at
major travel trade shows.
That is precisely what organisers need
to remember. It is easy to pack a trade show with conferences and
other reasons to attend
etc., but what many buyers really want is to experience a new
destination, meet sellers who they would not normally see, do site
inspections, new learn things about the host destination and to
expand their business horizons.
That is why we are very big fans of shows that
rotate the host city/country. Events such as the ASEAN
Tourism Forum, TTM+ and others. Though even they sometimes miss
the point. For example, we have encouraged the Tourism Authority
of Thailand for many years to host TTM+ in a tertiary city such as
Khon Kaen, Ubon or Roi-Et, so that instead is just talking about
Isaan, they can showcase it to travel buyers properly.
The Cambodia Travel Market in 2019
was brilliant because buyers could sit down with people from parts
of the country they know nothing about. The WTM in London and Arabian Travel Market in Dubai
remain important as they are very well established. For aviation, it would be Farnborough or Paris, as
well as
the Singapore Airshow and possibly LIMA.
We would also love to see Laos, Myanmar,
Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau
develop and better promote an official annual travel trade show for international buyers and media
that rotates meaningfully between their cities with the most
future tourism potential and not just the cities so many travel
buyers have visited already a dozen or more times.
This calendar of events is constantly being updated as
more shows confirm live events. Please note that we do not list virtual trade
shows.
Some travel trade shows do host buyers - covering
airfares and hotel etc., so it is always worth asking whether that
is an option and how to apply.
For Asia, the ASEAN
Tourism Forum, or
ATF
as it is more commonly known,
has traditionally been an excellent show to attend,
especially as it rotates between ASEAN countries every year,
allowing you to experience the destinations you are selling. Sadly,
independent reports we received about
this year's event in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, indicate that it attracted just over 60 sellers, 50 buyers
and very
few regional or international travel trade media were invited to attend.
Official reports from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and
Economy are, however, very, very different, and claim there were
348 exhibitors from 11 countries and 115 buyers from 29 countries. Let's hope the beautiful
country of Laos does a better job when it hosts the ATF 2024 in
Vientiane from 15-19 January.
The Thailand Travel Mart
Plus (TTM+) has improved enormously over the years and is now
an excellent show to attend as it is very focused and gives buyers
the opportunity to meet with a wide range of Thai sellers who they would not normally meet.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has done a great job in turning this event into an
extremely valuable and must attend travel trade show. In 2019,
TTM+ was held at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Jomtien, Pattaya,
but was not held in 2020, 2021, though they did manage to host
TTM+ 2022 in Phuket.
I cannot help but think that TAT has missed an opportunity to
promote a city in Isaan such as Ubon or Roi-Et in 2023, as the
event will take place at QSNCC in Bangkok from 31 May to 2 June.
Hopefully in 2024, they will use TTM+ to really promote the beauty
and charms of Thailand's secondary and tertiary cities by hosting
it in one of them.
See:
Thailand Travel Mart (TTM+) 2020 - Exclusive Interview with Chiravadee Khunsub
of TAT and
HD Videos from Thailand Travel Mart Plus (TTM+) 2019.
The Cambodia Travel Mart
takes place in October every year and TravelNewsAsia.com
attended for the first time in 2019, the third time the event had
taken place. The Kingdom of Cambodia has HUGE tourism potential.
It has some amazing beaches, mountains, jungle and plenty of
architectural wonders - such as Angkor Wat and others. Having said
that, the Cambodia Travel Mart needs to focus more on the B2B
market and get more support from the large international hotel
chains and regional tourism bodies. It is very important that this
event succeeds, as it is far better for overseas buyers and media
to visit Cambodia to attend CTM, than for sellers to travel to an
event overseas and compete for their attention against all the
other destinations. Cheaper too. CTM is still young, and I think
it will grow in the years to come. Should you attend? Definitely,
you will meet sellers that you would never normally meet, and get
to experience the country at the same time.
HD Videos from Cambodia Travel Mart 2019.
In
2008, Messe Berlin, organisers of the mammoth ITB
Berlin, together with the Singapore Tourism Board, put their full weight behind the inaugural
ITB Asia. Over the years, it has
grown and grown, and continued to grow - at least the events
around ITB Asia have. While all this expansion
may seem like a good
thing, in our eyes - as a media outlet - there is too much going
on, with conferences and seminars covering every imaginable topic
taking place at the same time. We no longer attend ITB Asia which
takes place annually in Singapore, as
we prefer to attend more focused shows such as TTM+, ATF, WTM and CTM.
Another important travel trade show in the
region is
Tourism Expo Japan, formerly known as JATA Tourism Expo. This trade show has the
ambitious aim of becoming the biggest in Asia and with Japan being
such an important outbound market, even with a 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 a few
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. The
Tourism Expo Japan 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.
The Mekong Tourism Forum
rotates annually between countries in the GMS, so from that
perspective it is very interesting to see different cities and
get updates about the local tourism industry in that area. The
event does have potential, but is still trying to figure out the
best format to use. It is not really a travel trade show as there
are no buyers meet seller appointments - a pity perhaps, nor are
there any real exhibitors - again a pity, as it would be
interesting to see and meet with small hotels and tour operators
in that area. The MTF is more of a conference to promote
sustainable tourism and frankly is not currently worth spending
money to attend.
The
ITB and
WTM, held each year in Berlin and London
respectively, are two of the oldest and still the biggest travel trade shows in the world.
We used to attend both religiously for many, many years, but now, of the
two, only attend the WTM in London. Make sure you book flights and accommodation well in
advance as both Berlin and London get very busy.
The EIBTM and
IMEX are without a doubt
the best MICE shows in the world, although AIME in
Australia is also a good event aimed at the MICE market.
The
Arabian Travel Market is an excellent show
if you are interested in selling the Middle
East or attracting customers from the wealthy Middle
Eastern markets. To
make the most of this show try and do sales trips either after or before the show
to some surrounding areas such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Abu Dhabi, Bahrain
etc.
For luxury, the ILTM
series which started in Cannes but has grown in recent years to
include Japan and China, among others, is one of the best.
To add your trade show to the calendar
of events above costs just US$199 per show, per year, and
includes a direct link which opens in a new tab /
window. Send us an
email to add your show.
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