Travel fair a huge draw on first day, despite rain

Heavy rain failed to dampen the spirits of visitors to the Riyadh Travel Fair (RTF) 2016 as hundreds turned up for the opening ceremony itself on Tuesday evening.
The fair, a major travel industry showcase in the Kingdom, was inaugurated by Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General of Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC) in a glittering ceremony marked with drum beats and folk songs with people surrounding the singers. The event will continue till Friday, April 15.
Speaking to Arab News, the participants at the forum said enthusiastically that the event will be the largest this time around, with substantial increase in the number of exhibitors and visitors.
Notably, about 250 exhibitors are representing more than 50 countries. Over 50 national and regional pavilions registered a prominent presence with the show floor space having been increased by 11 percent compared to the 2015 event.
Last year, the Riyadh Travel Fair featured 219 exhibitors with visitor attendance at 17,573. That was an increase of 15 percent compared to the 2014 edition.
“This year, will continue our year-on-year growth as exhibitors hit over 250 and expected visitors with the huge turnout on the first day can go over 25,000,” said officials from ASAS Exhibitions, the main organizer of the RTF.
They said that with Saudi nationals increasingly traveling both domestically and overseas, the opportunities that the RTF provides for domestic and overseas destinations, hospitality service providers and other tourism related businesses, to directly meet with the Kingdom’s leading travel professionals and travelers has never been more significant.
Source: Arab News