No:95 MAY/JUNE'07 - S&M Publication ltd

ITE MICE & ITE The 21st International Travel Expo Hong KongExpansions by past exhibitors, newofficial pavilions by overseas tourismboards, more individual exhibitors andnew theme pavilion! ITE, Asia’s leadinginternational travel expo and theconcurrent ITE MICE continue expandingand will use a total of five hallsthis year, when in 2004 only two hallswere used. More importantly, the eventsare more geared towards up markettravels. Again, the Chief Executive ofHong Kong SAR, the Honorable DonaldTsang, has sent a Message to welcomeall participants of ITE and ITE MICE thisyear, while the Hong Kong’s EconomicSecretary, Mr. Stephen Ip, will officiatethe Opening. Taking part this year arearound 650 international exhibitorsfrom over 50 countries and regionsfrom Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe,Middle East and the Oceania; some 50official pavilions and/or participationsby tourism authorities with over half ofthem from outside Asia. New countrypavilions in ITE this year come fromAbu Dhabi, Turkey, Yemen from MiddleEast, Cuba and USA from Americas,Botswana from Africa, Czech from Europe,Nepal and Vietnam from Asia,and Maldives from the Indian Ocean.In addition, Prague of Czech and NewYork & New Jersey of USA will haveparticipations in ITE separate from theirnational pavilions. Also, Indonesia andVietnam will stage national pavilionsfor the first time in ITE MICE. Pavilionby China remains the largest, reflectingher importance as international destination.With expansion this year closeto 40%, Japan becomes the secondlargest official pavilion, to be followedclosely in scale by those of Hong Kong,Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, SouthKorea, Taiwan and Thailand etc. Anumber of other pavilions have also expandedtheir participation scale, andthose with growth percentage similarto Japan include Dubai, Malaysia, Mexicoand Zimbabwe. While there aremore official pavilions from the longhaul, in general, Asian pavilions takeup more space. Official pavilions nowoften incorporate their national characteristicsor highlighting certain themesin their stand design and decorationsand staging cultural performances. Forexamples, there were pavilions wherevisitors can enjoy massage under athatched roof, with structures mimickingheritage building or huge statueof Buddha popular for photographs.All more appealing to the up markettravelers. For the second time ITE MICEis being held concurrently with ITE, asleisure and business travels are not entirelyseparable. Exhibitors of ITE MICEinclude international and China basedhotel chains, resort & boutique hotelsand golf club, airlines from businesscharter jet, full service carrier to budgetairline tapping into business travel, conventioncenters, and official pavilions.In fact, more related sellers can alsobe found in ITE especially inside officialpavilions there. A new Hot Spring& Spa pavilion will be featured for thefirst time this year, which is also likelybe the first in international travel fairs inAsia. The Guangdong Hot Spring Associationwill organize around twentyto thirty members to take part in this pavilion,while other hot spring exhibitorswill remain with their official pavilions.This year, there are also more cruiseexhibitors who cover all major marketsincluding the emerging Asia. Recentlylaunched attractions in Hong Kong,which include Disneyland, Ngong Ping360 and the Wetland Park will beexhibiting alongside with the OceanPark. For a change, there is the Safariby Guangzhou Chime-long which hasalso other theme park, or search throughthe pavilion of Macau which wasawarded the World Heritage. The relationof travel with social responsibility isperhaps best illustrated in the stand onthe annual project of “Mighty Rovers”,which this year will raise fund and takeparticipants to China’s Sichuan provinceto help in construction of a primaryschool in a remote village there. Witha highly international exhibitor profileand contents particularly suitable forthe up market on business, MICE andleisure travels, ITE & ITE MICE thereforehave a lot to offer. There is alsoa hosted buyer program sponsoredby the Official Airlines of Cathay andDragonair, and Official Rail of KCRC,while Official Hotels offer special ratesto our trade visitors. The 21st InternationalTravel Expo Hong Kong (ITE) willbe held from June 14 to 17, while theconcurrent ITE MICE from June 14 to16 both at the Hong Kong Convention& Exhibition Center. They are supportedby China National Tourism Administration,Hong Kong Tourism Board,Travel Industry Council of Hong Kongand Macau Government Tourist Office.For further details or pre-registration,please visit official websitesof www.itehk.comand www.itehkmice.com.Athens 2007Advertising campaigns all around theworld and the preparations of the 2nd International Tourism Salon Athens2007, which is going to be carried outfrom the 22 nd until the 25 th of Novemberin the Mediterranean ExhibitionCenter (MEC), continues successfully.For an effective promotion in the internationaltourism market, ITS Athensparticipates in the most important tourismexhibitions in foreign countries.In particular, the 2nd ITS Athens traveledto Istanbul for the East MediterraneanInternational Travel & TourismExhibition (EMITT), to Milan for BIT, toBerlin for ITB and to Moscow for MITT.During the exhibitions the organizingcompany, MACT SA, communicatedwith tour operators and informed visitorsand exhibitors about its philosophyand targets. Having met and discussedabout the 2 nd ITS with tour operatorsfrom all over the world, the organizingcompany estimates that morethan 150 buyers will visit great event.The 2 nd ITS Athens will be heldunder the aegis of the Ministry ofTourism Development and has thesupport of the biggest tourist institutionsin Greece and Cyprus . Exhibitorsare from Greek as well as fromforeign tourist institutions, municipalities,prefectural committees, travelagencies, big tourist companies (hotels,airlines, shipping companies,cruise companies) and companiesrelated to different kinds of tourism.