HOUSE OF THE WEEK
A Golden Valley white out
UNBEKNOWST to Myanmar’s diligent meteorological department, an extremely localised snowstorm has carpeted the interior of this two-storey Golden Valley house. moreSix travel companies to attend Fitur 2010
(Volume 26, No. 506)
SIX Myanmar travel companies will participate in the Feria International de Tourismo (Fitur 2010) travel trade fair in Spain later this month.
The Myanmar participants – Adventure Myanmar Tours and Incentive, Columbus Travels and Tours, EPG Travel Company, Interconnection Travels, Seven Star Tours and Taw Win Travel Company – will spearhead industry efforts to attract more tourists from the Spanish-speaking world.
Participants will form a seller group at Fitur, which will be held from January 20 to 24 in Madrid.
A spokesperson from Interconnection Travels said the Myanmar group will share an 18-square-metre booth and will distribute brochures and CD-ROMs with tourism-related information to prospective Spanish customers.
“Travel companies will present their tourism products to tour operators at the event,” he said.
U Aung Naing, the managing director of EPG Travel Company, said Fitur would be the first time in 10 years his company had taken part in an event targeting the Spanish market.
“By participating in Fitur, we can make deals with business partners not only for Spanish tourists but also other Spanish-speaking markets, including Latin America and South America,” U Aung Naing said.
The peak time for Spanish tourist arrivals is during the country’s summer holidays in July and August.
In previous years most Spanish visitors came as part of group tours but U Aung Naing said this might change in 2010 because of the struggling Spanish economy.
“The economy in Spain was badly affected by the global recession, so Myanmar could see an increase in individual travellers from Spain in 2010, in my opinion,” he said.
According to government statistics supplied by the Myanmar Marketing Committee (MMC), 4459 Spanish tourists passed through the Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, and Muse gateways in 2009, up from 2588 in 2008 – an increase of more than 72 percent.
Daw Thwe Thwe Tun, admin manager of MMC, which is organising the Myanmar presence in Madrid, said participation in international travel fairs could be an effective way of developing Myanmar as a travel destination and increasing international awareness and knowledge of the country.
“We choose the travel shows that are in our target markets and customers,” Daw Thwe Thwe Tun said.
“We can keep hold of existing old business partners and also build relationships with new customers by attending international travel shows, including ITB in Berlin and WTM in London,” she said.
“Clients who have been to Myanmar generally commented that they wanted to visit the country again.”
