POST SHOW REPORT ON MITT2001
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The key players of the travel and tourism industry on the Russian and CIS markets
celebrated the 8th successful edition of MITT, when it closed its doors on 31st
March. Exhibitors and visitors alike anticipate a very strong season for this
region and business negotiations on site reflect confidence in that forecast.
The energy and efforts of all those involved contributed to one of the most positive
and productive editions of MITT, accurately reflecting the recovery and renewed
stability in the market.
Official Opening Ceremony
MITT2001 was opened by a distinguished group of VIP guests including: Mr Klebanov, Vice Premier of the Russian Federation; Mr Poltavchenko, Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal Region; Mr Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow; Mr Strjalkovsky, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation and Mr Shackleford, Representative for Europe, World Tourism Organisation. A high profile international delegation was also present at the ceremony, including Mr Erkan Mumcu, Minister of Tourism for Turkey, Mr Nicos Rollandis, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Cyprus; Mr George Markantonatos, Minister Plenipotentiary, First Counsellor of Greece; Mr Valery Tsibukh, Head of the State Committee for Youth Policies, Sports and Tourism of Ukraine; Mr Sergey Kunitsyn, Prime Minister of Crimea and a host of Ambassadors and Ministerial officials from over 50 countries world-wide.
Exhibitor Profile
New international delegations from Jordan, South Africa, Chile, Indonesia and Belgium joined over 100 other countries and regions represented at MITT2001 by some 2,000 companies. The ability of MITT to consistently attract new comers to the Russian market underlines the renewed stability and the still vast potential of the industry in this region. MITT2001 also saw an important increase in the representation from the CIS States including large delegations from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Belorussia, as well as regional representation from over 70 Russian regions including Altai, Irkutsk, Vladimir, Smolensk and Yakutia.
Visitor Profile
Visitor figures remain stable year on year with some 65,000 visitors registering on the first 3 trade days. It is estimated that an additional 35,000 unregistered visitors attended. However, initial exhibitor feedback indicates an improved quality of visitor with many contracts being signed on site and an evident positive view on the market for the coming year.
MITT2001 Events
A full programme of events including exhibitor seminars and stand presentations as well as award ceremonies and special feature areas supported MITT this year. A number of organisations including the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Club Med, Valtex and Natalie Tours took advantage of MITT to organise presentations and seminars of their products to a wide audience of press and private companies.
The now established Russian Travel Awards organised in conjunction with TTG Russia and sponsored by Hertz, saw its 3rd edition at MITT2001. Winners in the 14 categories were voted for by the readership of TTG Russia and included Hot Travel Packages as the Best Russian Travel Agent, Lanta Tour as the Best Russian Tour Operator for the Americas, Radisson SAS as the Best International Hotel Group and Turkey as the Best National Tourist Office in Russia. The Malta Tourism Office was also given a special award for the most active promotion of a foreign destination in Russia.
A new initiative at MITT2001, the Adventure Tourism Area, featured companies specialising in this up and coming sector of the industry. Their products were presented through a full programme of events including video presentations and competitions and the company Gorny Club was also recognised during the Russian Travel Awards for its contribution to this significant new sector. One of the more established feature areas at MITT after its successful launch at MITT2000 was the Technology Area, where domestic information technology companies promoted their recent initiatives and products to an attentive audience of trade visitors.
Two days prior to MITT2001 the World Tourism Organisation, in co-operation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation, held a regional seminar on tourism statistics for the implementation of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), to help gauge the impact of tourism on national and world economies.
"Once again the commitment of everyone working in the travel & tourism industry
in Russia has contributed to another successful edition of MITT," says David Hammond,
Director of ITE Travel Exhibitions. "We have been delighted with the progress
of the show this year and to see so many new Russian and international companies
here, as well as our more established exhibitors. We look forward to an exciting
future for the travel industry in Russia and to working with all our colleagues
on the market in maintaining MITT's position as the number one travel event for
Russia."
MITT is a member of ETTFA (European Tourism Trade Fairs Association) and the WTO (World Tourism Organisation) and has an UFI (Union des Foires Internationales) accreditation. It is organised by ITE Travel Exhibitions, a division of ITE Group Plc, leading exhibition organisers in new markets.
TESTIMONIALS RE MITT2001
"Year-on-year MITT delivers lucrative results. It is the only fair Switzerland Tourism attends at which contracts are signed on the spot."
Mr Ueltschi, Switzerland Tourism
"South African Tourism participated for the first time with their own stand at MITT2001. We were impressed by the quality of the fair, the professional manner in which MITT was organized and by the increased interest in South Africa shown by the tour operators, which were from the Russian Federation, the Baltic States and other the CIS countries."
Brigitte Weiss, South Africa Tourist Board
"Our commercial office is very grateful to the MITT organising committee for their support, excellent work and dedication to exhibitors, making our participation all the more successful"
Fernando Belloni, Pro Chile
"MITT is much more than the premier Russian travel industry exhibition. It has become a major international event for the global tourism community, and is part and parcel of the Russian Government's tourism marketing strategy"
Mr Peter Shackleford, Regional Representative for Europe, World Tourism Organisation.