Representatives from Taiwan & the Philippines to participate in Int’l Mediterranean Tourism Market for 1st time this year. At least 150 travel agents from abroad are expected to arrive.

By Danny Sadeh

Tourism Ministry Director-General Noaz Bar Nir will be named Person of the Year in Tourism during the International Mediterranean Tourism Market (IMTM) event scheduled to open in Tel Aviv on February 5-6.

IMTM event to be held for 19th time in February Photo: Rami Hacham

Bar Nir will be given the title as a show of appreciation for the committee he chaired, whose recommendations for reducing vacation prices in Israel were adopted by the government recently.

The fair, which will be held for the 19th time this year by the Ortra company and the Israel Travel News magazine, is expected to be attended by some 150 foreign travel agents, representatives of 30 countries and representatives of Israel’s tourism industry, including tourism associations, hotel chains, airlines, the Israel Tourist Guide Association, and others.

According to Lior Gelfand of Ortra, this year’s event will be as big as last year’s event, which was the largest fair ever held in Israel.

As opposed to previous years, the fair will not include stands from Russia, Thailand and Turkey, but it will host representatives from Taiwan and the Philippines for the very first time, as well as representatives from France and Scandinavian countries.

“In addition,” says Gelfand, “Japan and South Korea will arrive with larger delegations this year.”

Other countries participating in the fair include India, Spain, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Kenya, Ghana, Moldova, Colombia, Slovenia, Tanzania, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Ecuador, Panama, the Czech Republic, Malta, Serbia, Belarus and Portugal.

The fair will present new tourism projects set to be launched in the coming years and a new booking sites for the guestroom industry. It will also include a panel on tourism and aviation.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4333359,00.html