International Tourism Fair – Press Information 2

Organized under the slogan “Vacation is not hard”, the traditional tourism exhibition of the entire region of Southeast Europe and other parts of the world,

The 44^th International Tourism Fair
and
The 18^th International Fair of Hotel and Catering Equipment HORECA-EQUIPMENT

will be held at the Belgrade Fair from 23^rd to 26^th February 2023.

A reflection of the global tourism industry, a place of initiation of all tourism trends and trend promotions for this year, the Tourism Fair at the Belgrade Fair is a unique event and a driver of socio-economic development and progress.

The Fair, like tourism itself, has been constantly innovating and adapting to tourism opportunities and the business climate in the industry, in order to satisfy people’s constant desire for travel and visitors’ search for new destinations.

In halls 1, 1A and 4 of the Belgrade Fair, the Tourism Fair will again this year present a large number of popular world destinations with an increasingly diverse tourist offer, as well as the authentic accommodation facilities adapted to modern tourists.

Traditionally, the most important travel agencies, associations and organizations, hotels, tourist centers, transport companies and international tour operators will take part in the fair.

Partner country of the Tourism Fair 2023: People’s Republic of China

China and Serbia have the outstanding partnership relations in the field of economy, culture and in other areas as well. Promoted and greatly supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Youth of the Republic of Serbia, this year’s fair will be an opportunity to improve tourism exchange, to introduce domestic tourists, through the presentation of the National Tourism Agency of the People’s Republic of China, to the possibilities of visiting a country rich in history and heritage. Chinese tourists were among the most numerous foreign guests of Serbia, and the partnership at this year’s Tourism Fair is an opportunity to ensure that such trend continues in the future period. As a special event at the Tourism Fair, a B2B meeting with representatives from China is planned in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia.

The 44^th Tourism Fair hosts the exhibitors and visitors from over 30 countries and more than 40 tour operators from the country and abroad

Destinations continuously present at the fair and popular among domestic tourists are here again this year: Turkey, Greece, Montenegro, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, North Macedonia… as well as last year’s participants – island destinations – the Maldives, Sao Tome & Principe.

First appearance at the Tourism Fair

For the first time at this year’s fair, Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Namibia will present their tourist attractions, natural beauties and specific characteristics.

Exclusive fair prices, first-minute offers and packages with numerous benefits

Beloved by visitors as an annual landmark for choosing travel arrangements and opportunities, this year’s fair will once again offer its visitors the opportunity to choose from a large offer according to their affinities: family trips, far-away and exotic destinations, trips for young people, city breaks, rest and recovery in spas, spa weekends in the mountains, eco and active tourism, congress events…

Tourism of Serbia

Serbia will present its tourist assets in Hall 4 of the Belgrade Fair through authentic performances by the Tourist Organization of Serbia (TOS), the Tourist Organization of Belgrade (TOB), but also through participation by numerous local and regional tourist organizations from all parts of Serbia.

Under the slogan “Experience! SERBIA”, the Tourist Organization of Serbia will present in the days of the fair the art and history of Serbia, the natural beauties of Serbia, as well as numerous events. This year as well, the Tourist Organization of Serbia has prepared a large number of activities for fair visitors, such as the activation of Takeaway photo “Experience! SERBIA” and Kaleidoscope, which offers a completely new way of experiencing the destination and the application of new technologies in visual presentation. It will make all of us travel to the most beautiful parts of Serbia in a moment.

The knowledge quiz will provide an opportunity for visitors to check how well they know their country, to discover details and gain new knowledge. The combination of traditional and modern Serbia will be shown in the ethnic corner through the works of artists who will create ethnic motifs on fashion items.

Public Enterprise “Skijališta Srbije”, the Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia, the Ethnographic Museum and the National Association of Managers of Tourist Speleological Facilities of Serbia will also present themselves at the joint stand.

The Provincial Secretariat for Economy and Tourism of AP of Vojvodina will appear in Hall 1, where it will present the total offer of tourism potentials of Vojvodina, economic and tourist events, winners of the “Best of Vojvodina” mark, as well as the program of female entrepreneurship and authentic old crafts typical of the area of Vojvodina. Vojvodina’s gastronomic tourism offer will be presented in Hall 1a through the presentation of Fruška Gora wine tourism and the Night Bazaar event.

The City of Belgrade will promote its activities through a joint program of the Tourist Organization of Belgrade, the City Administration-Secretariat for Economy, city municipalities, institutions, and companies. Under the slogan “GO BELGRADE”, the Tourist Organization of Belgrade will promote the tourist offer of our city as a business destination, attractive for investments, congresses and seminars, a city of culture and events, a city of sports, “good energy, shopping and entertainment”, but also a destination that is always new and interesting for all categories of visitors; various programs of cultural and tourist offer will be promoted.

B2B business program

A large number of professional tourist representatives will attend the Tourism Fair again this year

Realized in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the European Entrepreneurship Network, the B2B business program has been successfully connecting exhibitors, visitors, and all other users of tourist services for years through the portal and the extremely active B2B platform for registration, reviews and mutual networking of participants. The registered participants will have the opportunity to meet representatives of numerous companies and to connect with business partners at pre-arranged meetings.

The two-day B2B meetings will take place on 23^rd and 24^th February from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the special area “B2B Meetings” (hall 1).

Already in the pre-fair period, B2B meetings were announced by business visitors (buyers) from Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. It is expected that, with coordination by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia, the representatives of the People’s Republic of China, this year’s partner country, and African countries participating in the Tourism Fair for the first time will be among the most active participants in the B2B meetings.

The Belgrade Tourism Fair is intended in its large organizational domain for professionals from all sectors of the tourism industry. In this sense, the 18^th International Fair of Hotel and Catering Equipment HORECA-OPREMA will be held concurrently at the Belgrade Fair, which will present the state-of-the-art equipment for hotel and hospitality facilities.

A rich supporting program, presentations, promotions, conferences…

The accompanying program at the Tourism Fair will be rich and inspiring, as it is every year, equally attractive for business visitors and for the general public and visitors.

Experts from the field of tourism will bring new knowledge related to tourism and will open up the most current topics about trends in congress tourism, online payment, young entrepreneurs who have successfully ventured into the waters of tourism…

The Tourism Fair with the HORECA-EQUIPMENT Fair

is an opportunity to meet businesspeople in the tourism, hotel, and hospitality business, for visitors it is the possibility for exclusive fair benefits for trips according to different affinities: family trips, distant and exotic destinations, trips for young people, city break, rest and recovery in spas, spa weekends in the mountains, eco and active tourism, congress events…

All-day events, presentations, promotions, tastings of specialties and flavors from all meridians, with friends and unforgettable encounters,

are the reason why visitors love and look forward to this irreplaceable and extraordinary event.

Welcome to the Tourism Fair!