Sri Lanka Tourism - Renewed strength for travel and tourism

The Arabian Travel Market 2010 closed on a high note. Four days of the Middle East's premier travel and tourism event reflected the industry's built-up momentum for growth.

Dancers performing a cultural item

Visitors at the show

Building business relationships

During the first day of the show

With significantly increased number of participants and visitors maximising every opportunity at further developing renewed business opportunities, brought about by steadily recovering economies previously affected by unfavourable global economic conditions, the show lived up to its billing as the most important to date.
Onsite statistics recorded an overall visitor increase of three percent. Arabian Travel Market also witnessed an increase in GCC visitors.
Turkey registered the largest visitor increase amongst participating countries.
Most importantly there was an increase in quality visitors with participants returning day after day to conduct business.
"Even before the show opened, Arabian Travel Market already witnessed positive consolidation of exhibitors and stand-sharers, and a record 72 participating countries which included more than 60 new-to-market representatives, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions - organisers of Arabian Travel Market 2010 Mark Walsh said. "More importantly, such growth figures were strongly reinforced by the increased number of visitors which translated into an equally significant increase in business activity, to the benefit of exhibitors," he said.
"As one of the most critical editions in Arabian Travel Market's 17-year history, the introduction of several new initiatives, such as our expanded seminar program, brought added value to all participants as an event that not only serves as a platform to announce new initiatives and projects, as well as promote enhanced inbound and outbound tourism products, but also to further enhance industry knowledge about strategies and issues that were thoroughly presented and discussed by well-renowned industry experts," Walsh said.
The show also saw delegations, led by senior Government Ministers, from a host of international and Middle East nations and states including Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Cyprus, Bahrain, Kenya, Kuwait, Spain, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa, Argentina, Romania, India, Morocco, Greece, Thailand, the Philippines and Nepal.

source - www.dailynews.lk