The oldest and biggest International Travel Fair in the Baltic States - TOUREST - will be held in Tallinn on 18-20 February for the 20th time! The first international travel trade fair in the Baltic countries after the restoration of their independence took place on November 1-3, 1991 in Tallinn. There were 82 exhibitors from 8 countries on 911 m2 of fair grounds. Until 2001, TOUREST was directed mainly at the professional visitors. After long and intense discussions the organizers decided in 2003 to change the concept of the fair. The event that used to take place in autumn was pushed into early spring and the fair's target group was now the travel-loving Estonian, i.e. the end-consumer. TOUREST also upgraded from a mere advertising event into a sales and entertainment event. A new addition was the interactive entertainment program that supported the advertising and sales activities of the exhibitors and lured visitors to the fair. Other additions included the Children's Hall and the specialist program that have become integral parts of TOUREST. A completely new approach was the entry via free web invitations that were distributed by the exhibitors.
Since the concept was changed the fair's slogan became “Holidays start here!” and the fair organizing team now included among its partners, in addition to Estonian Fairs, also Estonian Tourist Board to create a joint stand introducing Estonia's domestic tourism opportunities. Due to the number of exhibitors this stand moved into a separate hall in 2008. The “Holidays in Estonia” hall with its uniform design helps to better stand out and attract attention.
Reklāma
The 20th TOUREST has gathered more than 400 exhibitors from 26 countries (Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates/Dubai, Ukraine and Estonia) by now already.
During the 3 days of the fair we expect at least the same number of visitors as for the last 3 years (2008 -23 465, 2009 - 23 684, 2010 - 23734 - small children and exhibitors not inlcluded).
Three halls and the open air space in front of the Exhibition Center will again be at the disposal of exhibitors and visitors.
In the Main Hall all big Estonian tour operators, all shipping companies, many airlines, bus companies, spas, hotels, providers of active, country and nature holidays, museums etc. will be present. On the Main Stage travel games, auctions and presentations will take place. Additionally, a varied entertainment program will be offered by the exhibitors in their own stands.
Public’s favourite - Holidays in Estonia Hall - exhibition of Estonian domestic tourism will be opened in cooperation with the Estonian Tourist Board and the Estonian counties again to present a large scale of Estonian exhibitors from different regions of Estonia.
Parallely to the fair activities a program for the travel professionals will be organized in the conference center of the Estonian Fairs.
The official opening of the fair will take place on February 18th at 12.00.
Welcome to TOUREST 2011
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