ATF 2012 opens Thursday

ASEAN Tourism Forum 2012 will open in Manado, Indonesia this Thursday promising a record turnout of sellers and buyers at Asia’s first trade show of the year.

Meeting sessions between ministers, officials and private sector executives from ASEAN countries, plus India, China, Japan, Korea and Russia commenced 8 January.

ATF’s official opening ceremony and ASEANTA’s award presentation by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia, will kick off the event Thursday. Travel buyers and sellers trade will hold meetings at a newly constructed Golden Kawanua Exhibition Hall.

TRAVEX has 440 booths represented by 390 companies across the 10 ASEAN countries plus around 62 corporate; mainly hotel groups. Host country Indonesia and Thailand are the two largest exhibitors with 124 and 95 booths respectively. Countries with a much smaller seller representation are Brunei(4), Laos(30, Myanmar(4) and Cambodia (7).

There are buyers from four new emerging — Bulgaria, Egypt, Kuwait and New Zealand at ATF this year. In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific buyers make up the largest group; 48% of the total followed by Europe, 37.6%. ATF 2012 provides 32 appointment slots per buyer delegate.

Source - ttrweekly