Although Balttour 2017 still accepts signups, 60% of the exhibition space is already booked according to the official website. You may want to book your booth too, as the exhibition attracts hospitality pros from more than 40 countries, and in 2016 it gained the attention of more than 26 thousand travel enthusiasts (public), including 5.3 thousand tourism industry professionals.
Over 850 tourism companies showcased their offers at Balttour 2016 and the number will be surpassed in 2017. Since 2014, when the first edition of Balttour saw about 450 exhibitors, the numbers almost doubled. The fair kicks off the new travel season in the country with interesting offers, particularly designed for the Latvia – Baltics – Northern Europe – CIS and Russia travel regions. Targeted audiences include representatives of travel service providers, travel agencies, transport, catering, financial and insurance service providers, tourist information centers and entertainment companies, governmental and municipal officials, mass media, professional associations, and educational institutions.
Balttour 2017 takes place at the Kipsala International Exhibition Centre at the beginning of February 2017, on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days of the month. Participating countries include Lithuania, Estonia, Thailand, Taiwan, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Cuba, Switzerland, Zanzibar, Greece, Georgia, Malta, and others.
Balttour 2016 revealed impportant industry trends and travel purchase habits.
“The overall turnover percentage during the fair has increased, but we noticed that people were slightly afraid to travel to Egypt and Turkey,” said Uldis Alksnis, board chairman of Jēkaba ceļojumi.
And also:
“The most popular destinations were Greece, Georgia, Malta, Turkey, Thailand and Malaysia,” according to Liene Pelše, board member of the 365 brīvdienas travel agency, who added, “There are still customers who buy trips to Malta for EUR 490 and customers who buy trips to more distant countries for EUR 2000.”
Travel and hospitality pros, as well as the media, should keep an eye on Balttour 2017 for similar relevant industry insights. Also, Cuba, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania and Zanzibar were represented for the first time at Balttour 2016. Can you predict surprises for Balttour 2017?