ITE Group Plc, organiser of Russia’s largest travel event, MITT, has announced its decision to withdraw from organising the autumn travel exhibition, Otdykh / Leisure 2010, previously held in partnership with MSI Fairs & Exhibitions at Expocentre in September.
In response to the market, the decision was made to cancel duplicate, seasonal, travel events. It was welcomed by all the major market players, the largest tour operators, trade associations, national tourism boards and travel agents.
The organiser believes that the decision will have a positive effect on the development of Russia’s travel market, allowing travel companies and state organisations to optimise their promotional budgets and enabling trade visitors to learn about new offers during a larger, more comprehensive event.
The decision also means that ITE will be able to focus all its efforts, experience and resources on its flagship travel event, MITT, which is one of the top five travel exhibitions in the world.
According to Alexander Shtalenkov, General Director of ITE LLC, “It was a logical step to meet the demands of the market, which have become clear over the past few years. We have listened to the industry and are pleased to come forward with the initiative to cancel the duplicate events. I am convinced that restoring the status quo and offering just one significant travel event per season will be welcomed by the market players and will allow them to present their tourism product effectively at one event”.
MITT 2011 will take place on 16-19 March at Expocentre. MITT is the largest travel and tourism exhibition in Russia showcasing over 3,000 companies from 120 countries and regions. In 2010, the event registered an attendance of 79,500.
