ITF Asia 2024 : SAARC to get its own global travel trade show

A travel trade expo with a unique backdrop
2023-04-05
/
/ New Delhi
ITF Asia 2024 : SAARC to get its own global travel trade show

Mohamed Bassam Adam, Event Director of the proposed International Tourism Fair (ITF Asia) & Mohamed Jaleel, GM of Dhivehi Expo Services visited Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism, Maldives and shared information about the proposed ITF Asia to be held in 2024 in Maldives

A Maldivian company, with the support of industry stakeholders, including the Ministry of Tourism of Maldives, is mounting a unique travel and trade show, the first international tourism event to be held in Maldives. ITF Asia aims to bring exhibitors, buyers and trade visitors from all across the globe to gather in the idyllic islands.
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Next April, travel and tourism stakeholders from across the world can look forward to participating in yet another tourism event. Except that it won’t be just another tourism event, set in a large convention centre in the middle of a bustling city. Set in the idyllic Maldives, it would be the world’s first travel and tourism event that brings a new dimension to the oft-used term, bleisure.

To offer business opportunities in the midst of a tourist’s haven is the objective of ITF Asia, a three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry professionals that facilitates business connections for the global travel community, says Mohamed Bassam Adam, Event Director of ITF Asia.

‘‘ITF Asia will create a valuable platform for exhibitors across various sectors, including travel, transport, hospitality, aviation, technology, and more, to connect with potential business partners and buyers from across the world, with the beautiful backdrop of Maldives,’’ Bassam Adam tells India Outbound.

The organisers say that scheduled to be held from April 22-24, 2024 at Central Park, Hulumale in Maldives, ITF Asia would be the first travel and tourism forum offering the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to come together and mount a show of their own and attract buyers and visitors from all over the globe.

Adam says that besides SAARC countries, the exhibition will attract attendees from Europe, Middle East, Russia, and other Asian countries and it will foster a diverse and dynamic marketplace for exhibitors and buyers alike. He adds that the organisers expect to attract about 200 exhibitors, mainly from SAARC nations, but also from other parts of the world, especially those destinations, airlines or DMCs and the like, who want to target the world’s single largest tourism region, South Asia, which counts close to 1.9 billion people.

‘‘As it has been espoused by various stakeholders earlier, ITF Asia will offer an ideal opportunity for SAARC nations to mount multi-country itineraries, for example Sri Lanka, Maldives and India for a visitor from Europe or United States, as i twill give the tourists an enriching experience of discovering three distinct cultures and tourism sites,’’ says Adam.

He says that the organisers will have about 50 hosted buyers from the world over and a total of 5,000 trade visitors. He adds that the hosted buyers will have speed networking as well as lounge facilities and that travel trade visitors can also opt for the networking service by paying a small fee. Other trade visitors can register online until February 29, 2024 to avail of a free entrance.

Besides the B2B meetings and networking, ITF Asia will also see concurrent events which are also open to all participants. These include the “ITF Asia Industry Convention’’ that will feature sessions on subjects that are key to the future of the global tourism industry, says Adam.

The sessions include sustainable tourism forum, travel technology trends, social media marketing and sales as well as training the travel agents of tomorrow.

Adam says that a global digital promotional campaign about ITF Asia will soon be launched and the event will also be promoted by the Maldives Ministry of Tourism which is the patron of the event, through its PR network and at all events where the country would be participating between now and April 2024.

Adam says the ITF Asia team has already reached out to potential exhibitors and the response has been very encouraging, not just from Maldives, but across the region. ‘‘We are giving them environment for exhibition to world’s number one tourism destination and we are giving a different dimension and ambience to a B2B travel and trade meet. So, I am confident, it will attract a lot of interest,’’ says Adam.

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