The 59th PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) travel mart ended on Saturday in Indonesia's resort island, Bali, with participating buyers and sellers overwhelmingly feeling satisfied about the result, and hopeful with next year's event in Hyderabad, India.
"This year's PATA mart has been very good. I think the idea of bringing incentive and meeting planners have been a good one," the Jakarta Post daily quoted Australia Tourism executive general manager international Richard Beere as saying.
As one of the chairman in PATA, Beere said that the PATA Travel Mart was moving on the right track and growing stronger each year, with plenty of opportunity to expand into other travel related sector as the industry was growing.
A total of 423 buyers representing 343 organizations from 49 source markets attended this year's PATA promotion and networking event which started Sept. 26. Buyers came to negotiate with 830 seller delegates representing 376 travel organizations from 38 destinations.
This year's mart, which organized jointly by PATA and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia, also sees 4,294 square meters of net floor space occupied by sellers, an increase of 218 square meters from last year.
"Not surprisingly, we are still seeing a presence from the Chinese mainland with 14 seller organizations, taking 144 sq. m of floor space," PATA president and CEO Peter de Jong said earlier, reaffirming that PATA's commitment to growing its activities in the "critical markt" of China.
Hosting guest at the last dinner gathering in Bali Friday night, India's Ministry of Tourism secretary Shilabhadra Banerjee invited all travel traders to take part in PATA Travel Mart 2008 in Hyderabad.
"New infrastructures will be ready next year. I am confident that Hyderabad will leave a lasting impression to you," Banerjee said, referring, among other, to a brand new international airport, scheduled to open on March 15 and additional 800 rooms from the existing 2,600 in the city.
Hyderabad is said to be the ideal Indian city for first-time visitors due to its rich history, culture and architecture, representing its unique character as a meeting point for North and South India and also now famous for a hub for information technology (IT) aside from Bangalore, he added.
Source: Xinhua
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