The twelfth international Caucasus Travel Show 2013 launched today at the Armenia Marriott Hotel in Yerevan. Armenian Deputy Minister of Economy Ara Petrosyan, USAID Armenia Mission Director Karen Hilliard, Ambassador of Argentina to Armenia Diego Ernesto Alvarez Rivera, Vice-President of the Armenian Association of Travel Agents Yeghishe Tanashyan, the Head of the Tourism Unit of the Yerevan Municipality Maria Baraghamyan, and the President of the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations Felicitas Wressnig delivered remarks at the opening ceremony, which was attended by representatives of the Armenian government, the international community, the local tourism industry and other stakeholders.
The Caucasus Travel Show (CTS) is a two-day international tradeshow that promotes tourism opportunities for Armenia and traditionally brings together about 18,000 visitors from the capital Yerevan and other provinces. Since 1999, the CTS has served as a meeting place for local tour operators and other representatives of the sector to establish new partnerships. Besides tour operators, exhibitors include travel agencies, hotels and resorts, airlines, tourism educational institutions, NGOs, tourism-related magazines and information agencies.
This year’s event features 75 exhibitors, of which 58 are from the 11 provinces. Organizers expect international visitors from Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Egypt, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates and other countries interested in Armenian tourism. On March 1 and 2, the exhibitors will have the chance to establish new business contacts with local and international tourism providers, obtain updated information about the field and available tour products, represent their businesses, and sell their tour packages and services.
This year the CTS also features a job fair for students and alumni of Armenian educational institutions specialized in tourism and a familiarization trip for international visitors.
The event is organized by the Armenian Association of Travel Agents (AATA) and the Armenian chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). The USAID-funded Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness (EDMC) Project is the main partner of the event this year. Through EDMC, USAID is supporting the participation of tourism providers from the provinces, as well as assisting with the job fair and enhancing tradeshow marketing efforts.
