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EXHIBITOR | SOUNDBITES
SHOW FLOOR PERSPECTIVE
THE ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET SHOW DAILY TEAM TOOK TO THE FLOOR AGAIN YESTERDAY TO ASK VISITORS TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS AND HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW SO FAR
DR CHANDANA DE SILVA Chairman
PREMIER LANKA TRAVELS This is my first time at Arabian Travel Market and I think it's great. We receive many visitors from the UAE and Premier Lanka Travels offers a variety of packages for them to enjoy our country. We can even arrange for tourists to stay with Sri Lankan families for a true cultural appreciation of the way people live, their traditions and their food. Through the Arabian Travel Market I have gained more of an insight in to what different nationalities want from their trips to Sri Lanka and now have ideas for new packages based on talking to people here.
TONY HINDER GM Sales
BUDGET RENT A CAR I'm absolutely amazed looking around at the show. To see so many countries here is fantastic. The investment is great. This is my second year at Arabian Travel Market and it seems like it is bigger and busier this year. There is more interest in our stand this year too. We're finding that there is generally more interest in the Middle East as a whole. Our expectations are not just about attracting more business. We are also focused on branding. Our competitors are recognisable and we want to improve our presence in the market.
AYMAN ARIDI Owner
UTRAVEL This is my 10th time at Arabian Travel Market, but first time as a Hosted Buyer, which is a great experience because it gives us the chance to meet all the international suppliers. I am here promoting Lebanon and we are working with the Minister of Tourism to attract more tourists. We are meeting agents from Europe and Asia, our main targets this year, and the meetings have gone well. Arabian Travel Market is always a good show for us. I am definitely enjoying it and it appears to be a great success so far.
JANE HAN President
JANE TOURS & DMC I am hoping to attract business from the GCC market for Korea, which is a new destination for MICE business. We have customers come here every year for general tourism and more recently medical tourism. Arabian Travel Market is always a good investment. This is my seventh year at the show. I spend money, time and energy here because I see the potential in the GCC and Arab market for Korea. I started my tourism business in the Orient, but I am a specialised handler of tourism to the Arab destinations.
SAMANTHA MCBRIDE Senior Corporate Communications Manager
IFA HOTELS & RESORTS I think the show has been a tremendous success so far. There are heaps of people around and it seems that everyone related to hospitality and tourism is here. IFA is a Kuwaiti- based company and we are the largest foreign investor on The Palm Jumeirah. Dubai is, therefore, an extremely important market for us and we have two more hotels opening here this year, Fairmont The Palm and the Mšvenpick Jumeirah Lakes Towers. This is my fourth year at Arabian Travel Market and I think the show keeps getting bigger and bigger.
PRINCE WALE OLAPADE Reporter
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE I enjoy walking around the show and interacting with a lot of different people. I meet a lot of buyers, learn about technological innovations and experience the global village that is represented here. There is an interest in the Middle East in Nigeria and there are people coming here to woo customers and, at the same time, look for ways to create synergies with people to make good business partnerships.
GERGELY HORVATH Chief Executive Officer
HUNGARIAN NATIONAL TOURIST OFFICE This is our second year at Arabian Travel Market. I think this is one of the best travel trade shows. We have been attending trade shows in Europe and America for more than 10 years, but according to world tourism trends this is a very important market. We believe all the important decision makers are here, so we need to be here too. For this market we offer two products. Budapest has high-quality services for leisure stays. The other is medical tourism, as Hungary has specialist plastic surgeons and dentists.
ENZO PERRETTA CEO and Managing Director
TEAM AMERICA
We are very excited to be here as we saw a huge interest in our destination at the last show, which was our first. We are trying to increase our portfolio of clients as we have seen a decrease in the European market and, at the same time, an increase in our Middle East business for New York and the US in general. We specialise in VIP and luxury travel, so I think it is a great match for this region. The show has been very busy and we are trying to educate buyers here, because the States is not the first choice, but there is a refreshing fascination with the destination.
MAKIKO MATSUDA HEALY Vice President Tourism Development
NYC & COMPANY
We are promoting New York City as a destination and the Middle East market has been growing more than five percent every year, so there is great opportunity. However, the US is not as well represented as we would like it to be. So we are here to assist the buyers in presenting what New York City has to offer to their clients Ð giving them the tools they can use to help get business. We have had a great experience at Arabian Travel Market. This show is very professionally put together and the diversity of the buyers is fantastic, not just from the Arabic world, but all markets.
LISA BRIGHTWELL Vice President of Sales & Marketing
COCO COLLECTIONS This is my 10th
Arabian Travel Market.
In previous years I worked on hotel stands in a marketing role, but this year I'm in sales and it's a different perspective. It is great because I'm walking the floor, looking for business, converting contracts, making partners and generating revenue. So far it's been really fruitful for us and it's only the second day. The Maldives is a great destination, only a four-hour flight from Dubai and there's lots of airlift now with Etihad, Qatar Airways and Emirates. So we want to try to get more business from the Middle East out there.
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