CAMBODIA – Organisers of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) and TRAVEX exhibition, TTG Asia and the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia, have announced the event has sold out of exhibitor space. Exhibitor numbers are up by 100 year-on-year.
By the end of October, more than 500 stands designed to showcase Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) destination products and services had been booked at the annual leisure travel trade event.
Over a thousand buyers registered an interest to attend as hosted buyers, but only 400 were selected. Over half of the buyer delegates came from Asia Pacific (55 per cent), with 37 per cent coming from Europe.
Over 1,600 delegates are expected at ATF 2011 with 100 internationa media. Now in its 30th year, the conference is due to be held at the Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Center in Phnom Penh, 15-21 January 2011.
“ASEAN offers a lot of tourism value in the international market,” said His Excellency So Mara, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia. “Demand for ASEAN will continue to grow and we can see that in the increasing interest of international buyers and proliferation of ASEAN products and services at the upcoming ATF.”
The ATF will focus on Ecotourism and Sustainable tourism in the ASEAN region, as well as managing destinations which are home to Heritage Sites. Invited speakers hail from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
The forum will feature all 10 ASEAN member nations: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. ATF rotates among the member countries; the previous two years' events were held in Vietnam and Brunei, respectively.
