Thailand Travel Mart 2002 Plus to position Thailand as Greater Mekong Subregion Tourism hub

Senior executives of about 500 top companies from Thailand, the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries and around the world will be meeting in Bangkok between September 17-20, 2002 for the Thailand Travel Mart 2002 Plus, the annual trade show.

Organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the show will bolster Thailand's position as a premiere destination in its own right as well as a major distribution hub for tourism to Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and China’s Yunnan province. 

Co-organisers of the show include Thai Airways International (TG), Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), Thai Hotels Association (THA) and TAT. The event will be organised at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC). 

Confirmations have been received from 274 exhibiting companies and agencies, mostly small- and medium-sized enterprises, from Thailand and the GMS area. They will meet with 235 buyers from 41 countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas. 

The biggest contingents of buyers are 26 from Australia, 23 from Germany and 14 from Italy. 

The sellers include national tourism organisations, airlines, hotels and resorts, tour operators, entertainment complexes as well as health and spa centres. 

They will promote an extensive range of tourism products and services including exhilarating adventure/eco- and agro-tourism, excellent golf packages, high-standard hotel and resort, unique tours of the Mekong region and world-class health and spa facilities. 

TAT Governor Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan commented, “The TTM 2002 Plus will provide a good opportunity for SMEs of Thailand and to GMS to showcase their products and services to a broad range of international buyers.” 

Specific trade appointments will be organised to ensure that all sellers, especially SMEs, get maximum opportunities to meet the buyers. 

On September 19 between 14:00-15:00 hours, a press briefing will be organised to provide Thai and foreign media representatives with updated information on the development of Thai tourism. The briefing will be attended by senior officials of TAT, THAI, ATTA and THA.

The event’s venue, BITEC, is the country’s biggest column-free exhibition hall with a gross area of 20,000 square metres. It is situated on a 60-acre plot of land on Bangna-Trat Highway, only 12 kilometres from the central business district. 

The Mart will open for trade only on September 19, 20 and the morning of September 21 and for the general public in the afternoon of September 21between 12:30-19:00 hours.