PATA Travel Mart 2008 (PTM08) opened in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, today with a total built-up floor space of 3,766 square metres. Some 1,089 trade delegates, comprising 374 global buyers from 324 organisations and 715 Asia Pacific seller delegates from 301 organisations, plus dozens of international media delegates have registered for the travel trade show. Hundreds of local trade visitors are expected to visit the show floor on Friday…
PATA Travel Mart 2008 (PTM08) opened in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, today with a total built-up floor space of 3,766 square metres. Some 1,089 trade delegates, comprising 374 global buyers from 324 organisations and 715 Asia Pacific seller delegates from 301 organisations, plus dozens of international media delegates have registered for the travel trade show. Hundreds of local trade visitors are expected to visit the show floor on Friday.
This year’s sold-out Mart reinforces its position as a premier travel trade event and underlines our delegates’ enthusiasm to experience new destinations every year.
“Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh are proving themselves to be outstanding hosts,” said PATA President and CEO Peter de Jong.
“I know the 1,089 professionals who made the effort to come to Hyderabad will be inspired by the welcome, the people they meet, and the insights they gain, and will return home knowing they’ve attended a world-class event.”
“That is the magic of this premier event,” agreed PATA Chair Janice Antonson. “It is why PATA Travel Mart gets rave reviews from delegates wherever it is hosted.”
The geographical and industry mix of buyers and sellers at PATA Travel Mart continues to be of a very high quality.
As host destination, India will provide the largest single-source market buyer contingent, with strong growth coming from China (PRC), which will host next year’s Mart in Hangzhou.
Regionally, European buyers lead the way, followed by Asian, Gulf, and North American buyers, with Pacific and African buyers combining for 10% of the total.
More than 170 qualified buyers are first-timers to the Mart, all of whom have been vetted by PATA. They included buyers from 12 new and expanding markets, such as Romania, Slovenia, Brazil, Peru, Cambodia, the Maldives, and six Gulf markets.
Some 56% of the buyers say they are wholesale leisure operators, 5% say they are international meetings industry specialists, and 39% say they are looking for both leisure and business travel products.
This year’s sellers represent a wide range of Asia Pacific product offerings. The predominant exhibitors are DMCs (29%), hotel chains (20%), NTOs (20%), and independent hotels/resorts (18%).
PATA Travel Mart 2008 offers these buyers and sellers outstanding opportunities to negotiate new business over three intense days.
“The Mart is possibly the most productive and enjoyable three days in the annual events calendar for many of our delegates,” said Mr de Jong.
PATA Travel Mart provides buyers and sellers with 40 one-on-one appointments over six half-day business sessions.
For the 374 buyers and 300 seller organisations who had registered before July 15, the pre-Mart appointment-matching system was able to fill 80% of the timeslots, on average, for each delegate.
This morning’s Seller-Meet-Buyer Breakfast Session, which was compulsory for buyers, gave sellers the opportunity to complete their appointment schedules.
Furthermore, the four “Open Hall Walk-Around” sessions scheduled throughout the programme offer buyers the chance to meet sellers outside of business sessions.
On top of all of that, hosted dinners, lunches, coffee breaks, after-work drinks, tours, and yesterday’s friendly golf game, provide multiple opportunities for delegates to mix and mingle.
“In many ways, the Mart is a reflection of the dynamism, diversity, and strength of Asia Pacific, including India, which is one of the shining stars” said Mr de Jong.
PATA selected India for PTM08 because the country’s tourism industry is among the strongest and most dynamic in the world and still shows plenty of room for growth.
Between 1996 and 2006, the Indian outbound market expanded nearly 10% per year. In 1996, Indians made nearly 3.5 million trips. By 2006, the number of outbound trips topped 8.3 million, according to PATA’s Strategic Intelligence Centre (SIC).
“With such a strong outbound performance, and double-digit growth in inbound arrivals, India is a compelling host destination for this year’s PATA Travel Mart,” said Ms Antonson.
Mr de Jong agreed: “We’re proud to have brought PATA Travel Mart 2008 to Hyderabad.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
