The largest travel trade event in south-eastern Europe, notably the Balkan region, 44th International Tourism Fair will be held in the Serbian capital Belgrade from February 23-26. Organisers are expecting a high turnout for the event.

Preparations are well underway for the organisation of the 44th edition of the International Tourism Fair, the most important tourist event in Serbia and in Southeast Europe, which will be held from February 23- 26, 2023, at the Belgrade Fair.

According to a press statement by the organisers, as the event dates approach, the expectations for the fair, also called the Belgrade Tourism Fair, are very high. The statement says that the fair is a reflection of the global tourism industry, a place of comprehensive offer and direct meetings of people with common business and travel interests.

The statement adds that Belgrade International Tourism Fair aims to provide a considerable scientific contribution in the domain of marketing and management regarding tourism destination competitiveness, with an emphasis on the Serbian market, and further broadening of knowledge necessary for a better understanding of the key concepts related to the area of destination competitiveness.

The organisers say that even the last edition of the event showed the domain in which the tourism industry is changing due to the global circumstances that strongly influence tourist flows. Fortunately, tourism is adapting and innovating in order to meet the continuous demand of consumers and the travellers’ desire to travel.

According to the latest data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), international tourism has experienced a strong recovery since the beginning of 2022, and this result is one of the reasons that the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day was Rethinking Tourism, with a focus on further forecasting the growth of income and importance of this inexhaustible economic branch.

The organisers say that Serbia continued to follow the global growth trend and this year recorded 88.4 pc more tourist visits than last year. The upcoming Tourism Fair will be the place where participants will see that Serbia is open for business, especially in the tourism and hospitality sector. The fair will present all tourism trends, tendencies, new knowledge, technologies, and opportunities in the field of tourism.

‘‘In February, the Tourism Fair traditionally gives rise to a wave of new energy, and through the establishment of contacts and networking of participants, the direction of achieving even better business results will be marked. Visitors can expect a large number of popular world destinations with an increasingly diverse tourist offer and authentic accommodation facilities adapted to modern tourists. Traditionally, the most important travel agencies, associations and organisations, hotels, tourist centres, airlines and international tour operators will take part in the fair,’’ says the statement.

Tourist destinations with their attractions, products, accommodation and catering facilities and other contents have the opportunity to present their offer not only to tourists from Serbia, but from the entire region, which is becoming an increasingly emitting market, it adds.

This year, the 18th International Fair of Hotel and Catering Equipment Horeca-Equipment will be held in parallel at the Belgrade Fair, which will present the most modern equipment for hotel and hospitality facilities, says the statement. The fair with a long tradition, regional reputation and trust of participants and visitors is one of the most successful events organised by the Belgrade Fair and a trademark of the city of Belgrade, it adds.

The tourism fair created an environment where supply and demand meet. The focus of the event remains the business contacts of the participants and business visitors from the country, from the region, as well as from the traditional markets where our people travel and those where the largest number of tourists come from.

This most visited tourism fair in the region and beyond through a large number of business guests and B2B activities with over 350 scheduled meetings held at the last gathering constitutes a significant market of several tens of millions of potential tourists. Bearing in mind the energy that both the organisers and participants show in the pre-fair atmosphere, along with the justified expectations of the visitors for exclusive fair prices and first minute offers, the 44th International Tourism Fair will continue its journey beyond the borders conquered so far, say the organisers.