Visitors to and participants at the Arab World Travel and Tourism Exchange (AWTTE 2005) at BIEL in Beirut, Lebanon, were impressed with the well organised exhibition and conference despite the fact that it was smaller in size compared to previous years.
The event was inaugurated by the Lebanese Minister of Tourism Joseph Sarkis who described it as, “an important event in the travel trade calendar and a means to bridge communication between the Lebanese and people all over the world.”
Lin Jurdi, project manager of the event, said a total of 7,000 guests attended the event this year. “We are happy with the turnout, given the political situation in the country.” There were more than a hundred stands at the event and Greece and Iran were exhibited for the first time. Since Qatar was the guest country this year, they had the largest stand at the exhibition with a massive tent situated outside the centre featuring authentic Qatari cuisine. “We had many visitors to our stands and received excellent reviews,” said Deena Ouotb from the Qatar Tourism Authority.
Added Mohammed Anuar Bin Mat Piah, area manager of Malaysian Airlines: “This is one of the best years because we have a bigger stand with proper arrangements and its nationally correlated with the food and cultural festival at the Phonecia InterContinental.”
Jurdi is keen to host a bigger exhibition next year and to have a fuller house. “We hope to be in the bigger hall of BIEL next year and to be packed with visitors and more exhibiting companies,” she said. Organised by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism and Al Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group in Cooperation with Middle East Airlines, AWTTE is an annual exhibition that promotes inbound and outbound tourism in Lebanon and the Middle East.
By Raghda Mugharbil