THAILAND Travel Mart Plus (TTM+), which will take place from June 5 to 7 at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, will once again focus on the niche tourism markets of health and wellness, wedding and honeymoon, golf and eco-tourism.
Organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the mart will feature 39 niche tourism operators, according to TAT deputy director for international marketing, Juthaporn Rerngronasa.
TTM+ will expand from 380 sellers in 2012 to 395 in 2013, of which 86 are making their debut this year, up from 75 last year.
Meanwhile, a stronger Greater Mekong Subregion presence – from 12 sellers in 2012 to 20 in 2013 – indicates “good growth in demand for this region”, Juthaporn opined. One of the new exhibitors this year is Yunnan Provincial Tourism Administration.
The mart will also see more buyers, with 303 participants from across 58 countries, including new source markets of Algeria, Belarus, Laos, Latvia and Slovenia. Similar to last year, the UK and India will have the largest representation, with 30 and 26 buyers respectively. There will also be nine buyers from Latin America and 23 from Central and East Europe.
TAT will introduce a new forum with two keynote sessions, as well as its biannual Friends of Thailand awards presentation ceremony, which recognises and rewards the efforts of tourism industry members in maintaining a positive image of Thailand and ensuring a steady flow of visitor arrivals. The ceremony is scheduled to take place on June 5 and will see awards go to 38 recipients from 24 countries.
In the meantime, the Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) 2013 will take place between June 5 and 9 at the same venue. Showcasing the tourism potential of Thailand’s five regions, Thai cuisine as well as contemporary Thai and international art and culture, TTF is expected to welcome some 200,000 visitors this year to generate about 300 million baht (US$10 million).
