46,000 visits – an 8% drop – was the figure noted as TUR 2003 closed on Sunday. But we`re very pleased, despite the…
46,000 visits – an 8% drop – was the figure noted as TUR 2003 closed on Sunday. “But we`re very pleased, despite the decrease. The fair has been a great success from a business point of view,” says Exhibition Manager Johan F. Lundberg.
The bottom line after this busy four-day event is that TUR at the Swedish Exhibition Centre has once more confirmed its position as Scandinavia`s leading tourism and travel trade fair.
Almost 1,800 exhibitors from 90 countries took part in the event on a net exhibition area of 15,000 square metres. All of 46,000 people came to the fair (trade visitors, general public and admissions via exhibitor entry passes).
War broke out in Iraq last Thursday, the very same day that the fair opened. “Of course, the fair was affected by the war, as is the whole travel and tourism industry. The media´s concentration on the war naturally meant that the fair received less attention than normally, which in turn affected visitor figures,” says Johan F. Lundberg. “But this year´s TUR was surprisingly well attended, despite the fact that the industry has problems, and many travel agencies have slimmed down their organisations to such an extent that their employees were not able to attend this year`s TUR.”
Johan F Lundberg concludes that the mood in the exhibition halls was very positive, despite the world situation. “I´ve heard many comments like `Lucky thing that we´ve got TUR!` and so on.” “The exhibitors were very satisfied, and business has been very good. Many have already booked their stands for TUR 2004. And some – including the Baltic states – have actually booked larger stands for next year. That´s positive thinking for you!”
TUR 2004 will be held at the Swedish Exhibition Centre in Goeteborg, 25-28 March next year.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
