Photo. Matti Michelmann, Tourist Office Manager, Patricia Ltd in Latvia.
A new interesting represent on the travel fair was Latvia. Tourist Office Information: www.rigalatvia.net. There's lots to see! Art Nouveau buildings, Occupation museum, Ethnographic museum, Central Market, Medieval buildings, Unique churches, Countryside surprises, Latvian food & culture, Daily life, Soviet Leftovers, Natures' surprises, Seaside beaches, Jewish heritage, and ancient wonders.
Reiseliv & Kultur Reiser
Reiseliv.no is has been a Norwegian travel guide for many years. Now the manager Per Henriksen has extended his concept and started to sell adventure tour to Africa together with the tour operator Kulturreiser. Based on his experience and skills in the travel market Per think smart and use small resources in marketing, and the same time he achieve good results.
As usual on the travel fairs, he attracted many people to his stand, and this time together with Kulturreiser. His marketing material is very inspiring and professional made. Per had a busy time writing down name of the people who show their interesting in the tours he offered.
Hvitserk & Eventyrreiser (www.Hvitserk.no) is always popular on the International Norwegian Meeting and Travel Fair. People crowded around their stand and many potential clients where registered. New adventures from Hvitserk are Gorilla safari in Uganda, mountain tours in Easter Europe, kayaing in Norway.
The Check`s stand was this year very boring. It was almost without a clear profile, and there where few things which attracted people to its stand. What did the car doing in the middle of the stand? Checka has so many interesting things to offer travellers so I wonder why so few people visited the stand. Perhaps
Photo. The Irish stand always full of life and traditional live music.
Photo. The large Croatian stand was placed in the middle of the travel fair.
Photo. One of the travel fair`s mascot.
The Norwegian biggest tour operator, Star Tour, is for the first time not represented on the travel fair. Wikstrøm Reiser, Escape Travel and Orkidereiser were either not represented. My Travel, who own the big tour operators/agents Ving and Saga Solreiser, have not been represented on the travel fair the last three years.
There could be many reasons for the large tour operators and agents werent represented on the travel fair. For the first they have already many clients. They have been doing targeted brand building through many years and are well known in the market.
For the second there is a lot of work to be represented on the travel time. Perhaps these tour operators find it more rewarding to spend their time on other marketing activities.
For the third, these companies have all well developed websites with a wide range of functionality and design. Clients find them easily on internet, and bookings can be done very efficient through their website.
As the organiser Reiseliv say it: You are at this show to do good business, learn something, find inspiration, be surprised...and to enjoy yourself.
Reiseliv is Norways largest and most effective business-to-business meeting place for the travel trade. It provides an arena for building relations, doing business, acquiring information and finding inspiration. This show ranks as one of the few places in Norway where you meet your travel trade customers face-to-face under a single roof.
I could see that there are many advantages by being represented on this travel fair and other travel fairs, but anyway: Is there a future for travel fairs in the future? People search for information and book their tours on Internet. I believe there will be potential for travel fairs in the future, but the shape of it will change.
Stein Morten Lund, 30 January 2007
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