Destination Balttour
By Inese Timuka .
02.02.2010
The annual Latvian travel trade fair Balttour 2010 is the biggest yet, with over 20,000 attendees and two halls packed with stands from Latvia and abroad.
This three-day event will be the industry’s networking highlight of the year. It is a holiday planning paradise, the place and time to get the best deals of the year.
The event is organized by the Association of Latvian Travel Agents (ALTA) and the International Exhibition Company BT 1. Balttour has become a longstanding and well-known tradition since 1994, a traditional meeting point for tourism professionals, a place to introduce offers to the widest circles of audience and establish new business contacts.
"As a justification for the popularity of Balttour, I can say that destinations like Turkey and Spain are coming year after year with big stands. They see a positive outcome from being at this fair," said Armands Eders, Balttour's project manager.
Asked what has changed in the field during the crisis, Kitija Gittendorfa, president of the Association of Latvian Travel Agents said: "We see that there are a little less travelers, but the fall is absolutely adequate to the general economic situation. It doesn't mean that people are not traveling anymore, just that are trying to get the maximum out of the travel deal. I believe that now travelers have said no for the time being to medium-to-far distance journeys. I would suggest that everyone get their own travel agent who will be able to genuinely offer the best deals; it is like having your own hairdresser or dentist, as it is they know their business the best."
Going together with the trend, the organizers see a natural evolution for Balttour from a traditional exhibition at the beginning and year by year transforming into a full-scale travel trade fair, a place to buy the best deals.
Asking what will be special this year, we were told there will be a lot of stands representing pleasant weekend getaways, the best spa venues in Latvia and its neighboring countries, as well as exotic destinations far beyond Europe's borders.
"This year there will be appetizing offers from the passenger shipping company Tallink and the tour operator Tez Tour. Special prices will be offered at this three-day long fair," Gitendorfa said. Her colleague Erders emphasized: "There will be a lot of lotteries too where everyone will have a chance to win some great travel prizes."
See you at Balttour 2010.
INFO:
Balttour 2010
www.bt1.lv
Open: 5-6 February, 10.00-18.00; 7 February, 10.00-16.00
Exhibition Center Kipsala, Ķīpsalas street 8 (A-2).
