Every head of a travel company chooses their own way to the client's heart. Some prefer to open an office on a busy street in the city center, others order beautiful mobile numbers for themselves. Still others consider ordinary advertising in the media a trivial waste of money and prefer to organize press tours for journalists, who then describe the new tourist destination in vivid colors. But all players in the tourism market are united by one thing: they all understand the importance of participating in international tourism events.
Arkady Rozbitsky, Director of Marketing and Advertising at SAM:
- During the 12 years of its operation, the travel company SAM has actively participated in UITT every year, and we consider this event to be the most significant event of the year in the country's tourism business. The main goals of our participation are: professional meetings with partners, agents and clients; the opportunity to find reliable foreign operators for implementing joint programs; announcing seasonal programs and strategic plans for the company's development; confirming the status of a leading tour operator in Ukraine; participation in conferences and seminars, as well as holding our own targeted events for agents and partners; familiarizing retail clients with the company's offers and distributing the firm's catalogs, etc.
The main feature of the spring-summer 2004 season, as we see it, is a new round of redistribution of forces in the markets of mass destinations - Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, etc. The strengthening of the positions of national tour operators in the listed countries is likely due to structural changes in large companies, the reorientation of their activities taking into account the real dominance of Turkish and Russian 'newcomers' in these markets.
Inga BASINA, Deputy Director of YANA:
- This year our company also celebrates its 10th anniversary, and we are participating in UITT for the ninth time. For us, this exhibition is a very important and responsible event, as it is the largest tourism salon in Ukraine, bringing together both representatives of the Ukrainian tourism business and large, medium and small tour operators from around the world. The exhibition allows us to meet with our partners to once again discuss and approve all areas of joint work in the upcoming season, get acquainted with new tour operators, compare the various services they offer, and their pricing policy.
UITT is also a huge opportunity to expand our agency network across Ukraine, so we take a very responsible approach to preparing for the exhibition: we create competitive price offers, contracts, various beneficial annexes to contracts, a bonus program, offers for promotional tours, etc. After all, it is thanks to UITT that a travel agent makes a choice as to which Ukrainian tour operator is profitable to work with on a particular tourist route. In my opinion, it is UITT that shows which destinations will become favorites in the new season.
I think that among the destinations, the priority ones will be, as usual, Turkey, then Sardinia, Sicily, Greece (as the country hosting the Olympic Games this year), and we hope for the popularity of the French Riviera. And for the May holidays, the so-called exotic destinations will be in favor: the Dominican Republic, India, and the like. As for us, we have prepared many interesting and exclusive programs for the upcoming season, such as charter trips to the Spanish resort of Costa del Sol and to the Austrian lake region of Carinthia, traditional programs to Turkey, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Greece, exclusive programs to Italy and France. And, of course, something unusually interesting, such as traveling through France on luxury trains or fashionable cruises along the rivers of France, relaxing in castles, villas, and yachts.
Yulia MURINA, Deputy General Director of Kariya-tur:
- The company Kariya-tur has existed on the Ukrainian tourism market for only a year, and in this regard, we have participated in UITT only once - in 2003. I would like to note that for us, participation in the exhibition is a necessary thing. It gives the company, as a tour operator, the opportunity to provide agencies with maximum information, meet and discuss pressing issues, and conclude contracts.
The tourism business in Ukraine is developing, and I think I will not be mistaken if I say that it is developing very rapidly. The number of charter flights increases every year. The Ukrainian tourist is becoming more and more demanding, and literally every day he needs more and more information. Exhibitions of the level of UITT attract foreign partners who expand our knowledge of promoting countries in the market. The Ukrainian tourist is also very demanding about the quality of service. Therefore, we also need more and more information to maintain this quality at a high level.
The 2004 season is very important for us. Every year there are significant changes in the development of the tourism market in Ukraine. Our company tries to keep up with the times. This year we plan to increase the number of charter flights to Antalya to five, in addition, we continue our charter program to Dalaman (Marmaris) and open a new destination - Bodrum. Kariya-tur is the only company in Ukraine that offers VIP service for clients, providing an individual approach, maximum attention and comfort. Last year, many agencies took advantage of this opportunity and were very satisfied.
The new feature of this season will be a new online booking system, available to all agencies that have received a password. You only need to visit our website. Sending a reservation and receiving confirmation will take just a few minutes, as the program will automatically confirm bookings. On the eve of the season, we will also organize familiarization tours to the countries we offer and introduce agencies to hotels, regions, and the history of Turkey and Egypt. We hope that the 2004 season will be very interesting and fruitful for the entire tourism business and for us.
Alla GORBUNOVA, president of the company "Soul":
- "Soul" has been participating in the exhibition for five years. We started with a small working space. Now, for the second year in a row, we have a two-story booth in the best place, in our opinion. Participation in UITT, firstly, gives us the opportunity to promote our routes, present programs and show what our company does. Secondly, it is an opportunity to meet our friends from different countries and conclude promising contracts with new partners. Thirdly, it is beneficial for employees, as active preparation for such an event unites the team.
This season we have prepared exclusive offers for our tourists, which we will present at the exhibition, in our office and on the company's website. I am sure that the 2004 season will be full of new offers, new routes and destinations will appear, and tourists who contact the "Soul" company will be satisfied.