IFTM Daily Preview Edition

2 NEWS :: ACTUALITÉS
IFTM Top Resa 2013:
Innovation, User-Friendliness
and Dynamism for Delegates
As the 35 th edition of Top Resa IFTM is about to open its doors Thomas
Desplanques, Director of the show, gives us a preview of what's new
in the 2013 edition.
Thomas Desplanques
IFTM Top Resa Director
::: Directeur du salon IFTM Top Resa
(…) during the
event all the various
aspects of the tourism
business get to meet
for four days on
neutral ground (…)
How is the 2013 show shaping up ?
It's a very good year despite a rather
unfavorable situation with a declining
market. Fortunately, we have a good
spot in the calender and so far, the
show is full in terms of exhibitors, with
the same size floor space as last year
(27 000 m 2 in Pavillon 7.2 at
the Exposition de Paris, Porte de
Versailles) while visitor registrations
are up compared to last year. These
numbers confirm that IFTM Top Resa
is the leader in the French market in
terms of generalised, multi-disciplinary
travel events. Last year at the 2012
edition I was working in tandem with
Vincent Lhoste, which allowed me to
save precious time, but this year I am
looking forward to seeing at first hand
all the projects we have created. This
year the show features a personality
who reflects our image in the form of
Sophie Jovillard, the bubbly presenter
of the show Echapées Belles on France
5. She will be with us throughout the
show, chairing the jury of the Travel
Agents Cup and participating in several
conferences.
What's new this year?
Our goal is to bring a new dynamic
to the "leisure" industry so we have
augmented the concepts behind the
TO village, while continuing with the
elements put in place last year, including
the Business area. Basically we wanted
to accelerate the event, and add more
conviviality, and the celebrations
aropund our 35 th anniversary give us
the opportunity to do so. On the 23 rd
we have organized a party in the new
space called Electric on the 4 th floor of
Pavillon 7. And in order to appreciate
the expertise of travel agents – who
represent 37% of our visitors – you
should make sure not to miss the finale
of the Travel Agents Cup to be held
on Friday 27 at the Agora at 10am.
Throughout the week, a series of
Workshops will be organized with our
17 partner destinations for which it is
possible to register for free, as soon as
your accreditation is done. But I should
warn you that the Workshops are so
successful that some sessions are
already full. Finally, we have created
a Business Travel Grand Prix which is
open to all companies, even those who
already won in the past, and Speed-​
Dating sessions for eventing agencies
and hotel suppliers to help them to
create lasting relationships.
Can IFTM Top Resa help to revitalize
French tourism?
Undoubtedly because during the event
all the various aspects of the tourism
business get to meet for four days
on neutral ground, leading to very
rewarding and friendly exchanges plus
IFTM Top Resa is extremely conducive
to new ideas and spending time in
meetings.
This is an opportunity for us to play our
role in promoting exchanges that may
help to trigger new ideas, and to show
that we are able to work together as an
industry and be united.
You're introducing an international
daily magazine this year, why?
Distributed every morning, it will allow
us to establish a very real link between
exhibitors and visitors and to strengthen
our international reputation since it will
be bilingual.
It is a communication tool for us that
sits at the heart of the event. 15 %
of our visitors are foreigners and that
number is growing every year because
as we are the main rendezvous for
French tourism. And we have real
international know-how thanks to the
fact that we belong to the Reed group.
Our ambition is of course, to open up
our doors wide to the whole world to
this event in one of its most beautiful
capitals!
[Translation by Gary Smith]
IFTM Daily • Wednesday 18 th September 2013
www.iftmdaily.com