ATF, TRAVEX return to Brunei in 2020; strong applications from trade buyers

Some 300 travel trade buyers from around the world have applied to attend TRAVEX next year, the B2B trade show that is part of the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF).

Running from January 14-16, 2020, at the BRIDEX International Conference Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, TRAVEX will offer buyers from around the world the opportunity to shop for some of the best and latest travel and tourism products from across South-east Asia.

TRAVEX, the B2B trade show that is part of the annual ATF, will return next year in Brunei

At press time, Europeans make up the majority of approved buyers at 41 per cent, followed by Asians at 32 per cent and Americans at 15 per cent. The rest of the approved buyers hail from markets including Australia, New Zealand, Azerbaijan and Estonia.

Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media – whose business unit TTG Events is organising TRAVEX 2020 on behalf of Brunei Tourism – said interest from travel trade buyers has been strong.

“Travel trade buyers from Asia and other regions of the world have come to recognise the value TRAVEX brings to their programme research, as well as the acquisition of business contacts, products and services. In addition to many buyers keen on returning to the event in 2020 to source for South-east Asian travel and tourism products and services, we are also seeing a good number of new applications even though we are still five months away from the event,” said Ng.

He shared that TTG Events applies a strict qualifying process for hosted buyer applications to ensure exhibitors get quality business interactions. As such, the final count of approved buyers will grow in coming weeks after careful consideration.

One of the early-stage approved buyers is Jaime Monfort, operations manager with Bidtravel, Spain, who is looking “to develop group tours with tailored packages particularly from Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam” from his attendance at TRAVEX 2020.

Also eyeing connections with new suppliers is Guillaume Vaudey de Vaudrey, general manager of Cosmopolis, France. He is keen on partners from Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Attractive social events and post-show tours are also magnets for buyers, according to Ng.

ATF 2020 and TRAVEX 2020 will also feature three self-paying tours from January 17, 2020. The Proboscis Monkey Tour is the shortest option, running for 2.5 hours to give participants an interesting snapshot of Brunei’s natural landscape, and the habitat and ecology of the elusive creature. The other two tours are bound for Ulu Temburong National Park, with one being a seven-hour-long day trip, and the other lasting for two days and one night.

Exhibition spaces are selling out fast, Ng noted, with confirmed sellers from both the corporate sector and regional NTOs.

Interested travel and tourism suppliers can contact TTG Events at atfsellers@ttgasia.com.

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