Despite the political uncertainty in Ukraine, over 300 tourism organisations and tour operators from more than 30 countries and regions participated and networked with the country’s travel trade.
Ukraine’s International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (UITT) celebrated its 20th year on 26–28 March 2014 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Despite the political uncertainty in Ukraine, over 300 tourism organisations and tour operators from more than 30 countries and regions participated and networked with the country’s travel trade.
Many exhibiting countries expressed their interest in promoting their destination as an alternative to the Crimean peninsula and its beach and healthcare resorts.
Svitlana Kabysh, Director, Hungarian Tourism Information Office in Ukraine, commented: “Historially, a significant portion of Ukrainians holiday in Crimea. Now, we are trying to redirect part of that flow to Hungary.”
Malden Falconi, Director, Croatian National Tourist Office in Moscow stated: “This year we expect to increase the number of Ukrainian tourists. For those who use to travel to Crimea, Croatia is a very good alternative holiday destination.”
Many VIP quests were in attendance to celebrate the event’s longevity, including Dmitry Bulatov, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and Marino Finozzi, Minister of Tourism of the Veneto Region (Italy). Ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Argentina, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Croatia and Slovenia were also present.
Over three days, leading tour operators, including Anex Tour, TUI Ukraine, Coral Travel, IATI, Mouzenidis Travel, PAC Group, Pegas Touristik, Natalie Tours and many more companies showcased their latest tourism offerings.
Business tourism was also a key highlight. The 9th International Conference MICE Ukraine: Business Travel was held alongside UITT. Industry experts, executives of business travel associations and representatives of partner companies discussed the future development of the business tourism industry in Ukraine.
Olena Heychenko, Director of Advertising, TUI Ukraine, stated: “We presented a great programme of package offers for summer destinations at crowded seminars and at the MICE: Business Travel B2B workshop. I appreciate the organisers’ efforts to make it a successful show.”
The new tourist image of Ukraine was also presented at UITT 2014. The new motto “Ukraine: It’s all about U” will be used to promote Ukraine as a tourism destination to international travellers.
Maria Badakh, Event and Sales Director, Travel Division, ITE Group plc states: “Outbound tourism from Ukraine has represented steady growth over recent years. Currently 7.7 million Ukrainians travel aboard annually. Despite recent events in Ukraine, we still remain optimistic about Ukraine’s travel industry potential.”
The 21st edition of UITT will return on 25-27 March 2015 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
