TOUR SALON 2009 is over!
724 exhibitors from 39 countries participated in the 20th anniversary edition of Poland's largest tourist fair TOUR SALON held in Poznań on 21-24 October. 25,000 attendees, including approx. 12,000 professionals from the industry, visited the grounds of Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie on the first two days reserved for professionals.
The show was once again very successful. As always, all Polish regions, travel agencies and tour operators, owners of accommodation facilities, health resorts, spas, hotels with SPA&wellness facilities, carriers, representatives of business tourism, companies providing services to the tourism sector and other businesses participated in the event. The fair presented tourist offers for upcoming seasons, interesting attractions and tourist products. The exhibitors lured the visitors with tasting, gifts, performances and shows at stands and on stage. Slovakia, the Partner Country of the fair and Pomorskie, the Polish Partner Region organised special presentations.
The show was attended by Ms. Katarzyna Sobierajska, Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Sport and Tourism and Dr. Henryk Jacek Jezierski, Chief State Geologist, Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Environment, who signed the first Geopark certificate in Poland at the trade fair opening ceremony. It was issued to the Polish part of the Muskau Arch. A conference devoted to the cooperation of the Ministry of the Environment with the Ministry of Sport and Tourism regarding geotourism was held on the same day.
TOUR SALON was once again a venue for the exhibitors to promote their businesses, present their offers and establish new relations within the industry. Over 400 business meetings were held thanks to the Business Planner programme (available at www.tour-salon.pl) introduced by MTP last year and enjoying a growing popularity.
An unforgettable evening
Long-term partners of TOUR SALON received awards at the official Exhibitors' Evening organised to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show. Diplomas and statuettes were presented for three groups: organisations, first trade fair exhibitors and individuals who contributed to the creation of the fair. Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie together with the Polish Chamber of Tourism, which also celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, presented new prestigious awards for the first time - an award for cooperation with the tourist sector and an award for promoting Poland abroad. The Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organisation received the former one and Anna Surma, Surahammars in Sweden received the latter one. At the very same evening awards were also presented to Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, the organiser of TOUR SALON. It received congratulation plates from the Minister of Sport and Tourism and the Polish Tourist Organisation and it also received the Globe of the Polish Tourist Organisation for involvement in the development of tourism promotion, creation of conditions for wide-ranging presentations of countries, regions, offers and tourist attractions and for establishing new business contacts among representatives of the industry.
Festival of tourism
The nationwide celebrations of the World Tourism Day were held on 22 October and they were an important event at this year's TOUR SALON. The Polish Tourist Organisation organised a conference devoted to investments in tourism and the Gala that featured a presentation of awards of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism for "Tourism Achievements" and Certificates of the Polish Tourist Organisation for the "Best Tourist Products". 14 certificates and 4 honourable mentions were granted this year. The Gold Certificate was presented for the second time in history. It was issued to the "Papal Route" Augustów Channel entered by the Podlesie Regional Tourist Organisation.
A rich programme of events
TOUR SALON is a business fair and this is why it included events prepared especially for the tourist sector - conferences, lectures and workshops (such as workshops devoted to sales in tourism and to taking and processing photos for tourism, co-organised with OtoWakacje.pl). DISCOVER POLAND, a workshop on inbound tourism held in a new form and devoted to active tourism was new at this year's show. Polish entrepreneurs could present their offers to tour operators from all over the world and show foreigners the unknown face of Polish tourism. Over 200 special pre-arranged business meetings with representatives of 10 countries were held over two days (21 and 22 October).
A conference entitled "E-ffective marketing in tourism and hotel industry" was one of the most important events in the programme of the show. The conference featured independent experts who presented the latest research and trends in e-marketing addressed to representatives of tourism and hotel industry. The E-ffective Marketing Conference showed how important search engines are in marketing strategies of hotels and tourist companies. The conference was continued in the form of online advertising workshops held as part of the AdWords Seminar Leader programme. Moreover, it was accompanied by the Good Side of Tourism Vote for the best and the most interesting websites identified by online marketing practitioners. The winners received statuettes and certificates. The award in the Travel Agency category was presented to Neckermann for www.thomascook.pl. The award in the City Website category was presented to www.gdansk4u.pl. www.palacbonerowski.pl turned out to be the most interesting hotel website. The Good Side of Tourism certificate in the Tourist Website category was presented by experts to www.trivago.pl. www.slupia.info.pl received a special award for an original idea. The organisers also presented the Special Award of the MTP Board President to www.gosilesia.pl (read a detailed conference report).
The best trade fair stands...
... always deserve awards. 7 exhibitors received the Acanthus Aureus awards presented to companies whose stands are conducive to the implementation of the corporate marketing strategies. The winners are: OTOMOTO Sp. z o.o. (OtoWakacje.pl), Łódź and the Łódź Region (Marshal Office of the Łódzkie Region), Lubelskie Region (Marshal Office of the Lubelskie Region), Małopolska Tourist Organisation, Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organisation, Slovak Tourist Board and the Marshal Office of the Mazowieckie Region. The presentation of statuettes and diplomas was organised on 22 October. An award ceremony for the 18th National Festival of Sightseeing Books was held on 23 October.
Attractions for the audience
This year's TOUR SALON abounded in attractions and special events. The first 40 visitors entering the fairgrounds every hour on Saturday, 24 October, received such gifts as free guidebooks, maps and atlases. Tram Tour (free trips around Poznań in historic trams), Travel Kaleidoscope (meetings with travellers), Speedminton Polish Open, changing the bus colour from white to gold - these are just some of the most popular trade fair events. Additionally, an exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of TOUR SALON and interesting photo expositions were open on four trade fair days. They included the exhibitions of winners in the Polska Travel Foto competition organised by the Polish Tourist Organisation, "Trips around Poland" exhibition of photos by Mikołaj Długosz organised by "Podróże" Magazine and the following exhibitions prepared by "Nurkowanie" Magazine: "Bornholm - the Pearl of the Baltic" and "Schleswig - Holstein Expedition". All attractions, new offers and the most interesting events were described in special issues of "Wiadomości Turystyczne Codziennie na TOUR SALON 2009" [Daily Tourism News at TOUR SALON 2009].
This year's show was held under the honorary auspices of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Polish Tourist Organisation and the Polish Chamber of Tourism.
Next edition of TOUR SALON will be organised in Poznań on 20 - 23 October 2010.
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