The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has pledged to make the the 2018 ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Chiang Mai an organisational success, especially the Travex buyer-seller format*, where millions of dollars of business is transacted annually.

Demand for Southeast Asian tourism products is growing at 10 per cent a year according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), making ASEAN the fastest growing tourism region in the world.

 

“Travex is the engine room driving much of ASEAN’s tourism success story,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor. “That’s why we are calling out to exhibitors to book their space, and for buyers to come and showcase the best of Southeast Asia to the world.”

 

ATF takes place at the Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre (CMECC) 22-26 January, 2018, with travel industry buyers conducting business on the floor of Travex 24-26 January.

 

Thailand’s minister of Tourism and Sports,  Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, who is current chair of the ASEAN Tourism Ministers grouping said: “While TAT is organising  Travex, make no mistake, this is an ASEAN show with leading tourism products from all 10 ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam."

 

*Hosted and non-hosted travel industry buyers will have to meet rigorous criteria: Be experienced in the tourism or travel business, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region; be a senior decision maker or consultant, negotiator and influencer from an outbound department with high-level responsibilities; have purchase authority to contract with ATF suppliers and make purchasing decisions on the show floor; have a history of organising outbound groups and events to multiple destinations; be able to show a history of continuous travel purchases; and be able to demonstrate that they regularly work with travel suppliers in the leisure travel or MICE sectors.

 

To join the ATF Travex 2018, please visit www.atfthailand2018.com