By Raini Hamdi
BALI – THE ASEAN Tourism Association (ASEANTA) has presented a proposal for the privatisation of Travex, the travel mart component of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), to the ASEAN NTOs.
A Travex organiser is now appointed by the ASEAN country which hosts the event. The host country may give it to its own travel agents’ association or outsource it to a professional exhibition organiser.
ASEANTA is proposing it takes charge of Travex each year, bearing its costs and profits as a private organiser would, according to Ms Elly Hutabarat, the ASEANTA president who stepped down at the end of October, and who submitted the proposal in Hanoi about two months ago.
The Travex privatisation issue is not new. Asked why the association revisited the idea, Ms Hutabarat said: “What we want to ensure is continuity and this cannot be achieved when the event goes from one organiser to the next, with the buyers’ database for instance, varying from one year to the next.”
Ms Hutabarat said the idea seemed to “have good response from the NTOs and we are still waiting to hear from them”.
Meanwhile, next year’s ATF and Travex, organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand in conjunction with Thai Airways International, Thai travel trade associations and other public and private organisations, has reported healthy bookings.
To be held in Bangkok from January 18 to 26, some 480 booths had already been sold to 384 organisations at press time, while about 300 buyers from 49 countries, especially from longhaul markets such as Europe and the US, had already signed up.
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