Press release

UITT 2009 Post Show News Release

UITT introduces new destinations to the Ukrainian tourism market

UITT celebrated its 15^th anniversary this year. The event took place on 25—27 March and featured 761 companies from 71 countries and regions. Despite concerns that the economic crisis would affect visitor numbers, the exhibition recorded an attendance of over 15,000 — an increase of 18% compared to the 2008 exhibition.

Every year, the exhibition develops and grows. This year, two new destinations took part in the exhibition: Indonesia and Lebanon. A new ‘medical tourism' sector was also launched, featuring well-known health resorts in Ukraine and abroad.

The lure of the Ukrainian market for international companies was summed up by Ms. Gabdulvalieva of ENIT Moscow, a regular exhibitor at UITT, «The ENIT (Italian State Tourist Board) continues its marketing activities in Ukraine, working from its representative office in Moscow. There is a growing recognition of the huge potential in the Ukrainian travel and tourism market. The participation at UITT 2009 was very useful to analyse the current situation in the Ukrainian tourism market, to meet and discuss current issues with Ukrainian tour operators. UITT has proved a profitable and timely promotional activity for our company».

The opening ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister for Tourism and Culture, Yuriy Zubko, the Head of the State Tourism and Resort Office, Anatoliy Pakhlya, Non-Executive Director of ITE Group Plc, Neil England, and General Director of Premier Expo, Alexander Goncharov.

The official partner destination for this year's UITT exhibition and its Russian sibling, MITT, was Dubai. Mr. Kanaev, of DTCM-Russia explained the development of Dubai's association with both shows, «Without a doubt, the spring exhibitions in Moscow (MITT) and Kiev (UITT) have seen a marked increase of interest amongst travel trade. The stands of Dubai in Moscow and Kiev, where the Emirate exhibited as a Partner Destination, were visited by 10—15% more travel trade professionals than last year. There was a noticeable increase in the number of decision-makers amongst the visitors: directors and destination managers of travel companies. We also recorded an increase in the number of tour operators present».

During the event's gala reception, awards were presented to the following international companies: Dubai (Best Destination), Lebanon (Best Newcomer), Italy (Best National Stand), Bulgaria (Best Stand Design), Turkey & Spain (Continued Support) and Greece (Support for National Companies), amongst others.

Event Director, Maria Badakh, commented, «I am extremely satisfied with this year's UITT exhibition. Exhibitors were very happy with both the increased attendance at the event and the amount of business they were able to do at the exhibition. The economic downturn has not discouraged destinations to look for new markets with good long-term potential and I'm very much looking forward to introducing even more destinations to the Ukrainian travel market next year».

Notes to editors

UITT – Ukraine International Travel & Tourism Exhibition
UITT is officially supported by: The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, and Kyiv City State Administration. The event is a member of: ITTFA, CECTA, ICCA and PATA.
The 16^th edition of UITT will take place in April 2010.

About the ITE Group
UITT is organised by ITE Group plc, a leading organiser of trade exhibitions and conferences, with over 180 events held annually in 11 countries. The company specialises in organising events in fast-developing markets, in particular Russia, CIS, Eastern Europe, Turkey, China and Africa. ITE has a large network of local offices throughout these regions. ITE’s portfolio of travel and tourism events also includes MITT (Russia), Leisure (Russia), TourSib (Russia), KITF (Kazakhstan), Astana Leisure (Kazakhstan), AITF (Azerbaijan) and EMITT (Turkey).

See also:
UITT 2009 photos →
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