Riyadh tourism professionals discuss market opportunities

AVIAREPS, the global representation leader providing international market growth opportunities to a portfolio of more than 100 airlines and 150 travel and tourism clients worldwide, arrived in Riyadh on Nov. 29 where it kicked off its Saudi leg of its Middle East Travel Caravan 2016.
The AVIAREPS Middle East Travel Caravan is a calendar of travel industry networking events that brings together some of the world’s leading destination, aviation and tourism brands under one roof with opportunities for partners to meet directly with the region’s leading travel agents and travel industry decision-makers. 
More than 110 leading travel agents and tourism professionals attended the Riyadh event, which was co-sponsored by Qatar Airways. 
Destination brands participating in the event included: Philippines Department of Tourism (PDOT), Slovenia Tourism Board (STB), Korean National Tourism Organization, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Visit California, California’s Orange County Visitors Association (OCVA), and Kyoto Convention and Visitors Bureau (KCVB). 
Other participating brands included Qatar Airways, Union Hotels (Europe), Happy Tours (Slovenia), Seawings (UAE), Cebu Pacific Airlines, Safari Travels and AYABEX (Japan). 
Glenn Johnston, general manager, AVIAREPS Middle East, said: “As a key outbound travel market, bringing the AVIAREPS Travel Caravan to Saudi Arabia has been extremely rewarding for both our tourism partners and the Saudi travel agents. Business deals have been initiated through these workshops that will result in new travel packages being developed with extra value for Saudi travelers seeking enriching holiday experiences.”  
The Saudi edition of the AVIAREPS Middle East Travel Caravan left for Jeddah on Nov. 30. Prior to visiting Saudi Arabia the AVIAREPS Middle East Travel Caravan visited Dubai in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. 
Johnston added: “The feedback from Saudi travel agents and our participating partners has been so overwhelmingly successful that we look forward to expanding the format next year.” 
The AVIAREPS Middle East Travel Caravan is a unique travel and tourism industry event, in that it is open to the participation of all national, regional and city tourism promotion boards, airlines, hotels, travel service companies and tour operators seeking to meet with the leading outbound tourism decision-makers of the Middle East. Co-participants are provided with a platform to showcase their offerings through a series of one-to-one meetings that culminate in an evening dinner event.
In addition to two AVIAREPS Travel Caravans conducted in the Middle East each year, AVIAREPS conducts similar activities in various markets around the world including the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Africa among many others.

Source: Arab News