Showreport Norwegian Travel Workshop 2012 The Norwegian Travel Workshop was held in Norway in April. Alex Rogers reports on the top stories
This year’s Norwegian Travel Workshop, the 40th staging of the event, ran from April 23-26, 2012. The show – Innovation Norway’s single largest event of the year – saw more than 700 tour operators, hoteliers and suppliers from around Norway showcase their products to buyers from more than 20 countries.
Some 25 tour operators from the UK headed to the town of Fredrikstad in south-east Norway, the largest UK delegation to the Travel Workshop for several years. After the trade show many of the visiting buyers explored various regions around the country.
Taber joins AITO
Family-run tour operator and Scandinavia expert Taber Holidays, based in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, has joined AITO. The company's Managing Director, Suzel Taber-Shaw, said: “Being an AITO member promotes the fact that we are specialists offering a very high standard of product knowledge. This is something that fits in perfectly with
thecomments From Saga to Science
The theme of this year’s workshop was 'From Saga to Science' ('Saga' from the Norse for 'history'). A glitzy opening ceremony was hosted at the Quality Hotel & Resort in Sarpsborg with performances from local singers, illusionists and dancers introducing all of the attendees to the artistic creativity of the area. Throughout the workshop's two days,
local food showcased products sourced from the region. These ranged from deer to lobster.
Next year’s workshop will be held in
the UNESCO-protected mountain village of Røros, from April 8-11, 2013.
Catherine Foster, Country Manager Innovation Norway “This year’s Norwegian
Travel Workshop was a great success for us. We had 25 UK tour operators attending which is an increase from 2011. In total a record number of 331 tour operators travelled from 22 countries to meet the Norwegian travel trade in Fredrikstad. We’ve had very positive feedback from the UK buyers, who had beneficial meetings with new and existing contacts, and also enjoyed trips around Norway both before and after the workshop. “It is estimated that two billion
Norwegian Kroner of business was completed over the course of the 8,000 meetings during the show, showcasing the best Norway can offer for agents and their customers.”
Suzel Taber-Shaw, Managing Director Taber Holidays
“Norway is our largest
and longest-standing programme and the Norwegian Travel Workshop is an opportunity to meet with lots of suppliers from all destinations in Norway. The suppliers are used to having to have all their prices and product details ready for the workshop and are well prepared.”
our client base. They want something different and look to the expert destination knowledge that small independent operators like us provide.” Taber Holidays offers summer and
winter Northern Lights breaks, active and wildlife holidays, city breaks, self-guided and escorted tours and accommodation options from self- catering cottages in Iceland to an overnight stay in Sweden’s Icehotel.
www.taberhols.co.uk
theround-up
ENorway welcomed 522,325 British visitors in 2011, an increase of one per cent compared with 2010. Of these, 88% stayed in hotels, seven per cent camped and three per cent stayed in privately-owned huts and lodges. After the Japanese, the Brits spent more time in hotels than any other nationality.
EEvents happening in the autumn/
winter months in Norway which agents can sell against include:- Bergen Food Festival, Bergen (September 6-9); Blues in Hell, Hell (September 22-23); Oslo Marathon (September 22), Oslo; October Oslo Beer Festival, Oslo; October Dark Season Blues, the northernmost blues festival in the world, Longyearbyen (October 12-14); Oslo Horse Show, family show including Grand Prix, Oslo (October 21-30); Oslo Opera Festival, Oslo; Oslo World Music Festival, Oslo (November 15-18); Barentsjazz, Tromso (November 24-December 20) and Christmas Market, Oslo.
ETaber Holidays has an extensive portfolio of summer and winter Northern
Lights breaks, active and wildlife holidays, city breaks and classic sightseeing trips. The operator also features both self-guided and escorted tours and a range of accommodation options from self-catering cottages in Iceland to an overnight stay in Sweden’s Icehotel.
www.taberhols.co.uk
Above: Fredrikstad in south-east Norway
www.sellinglonghaul.com • July/August 2012 19
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