In Europe, at least three dozen prominent tourism exhibitions are held during the year. Among the nearest quite authoritative ones, the German Germany Travel Mart (GMT) stands out. This year it also has an anniversary, albeit a much more solid one - the exhibition will open for the 30th time. It first took place back in 1972, in the era of the fathers of "détente" - the German Willy Brandt, the American George Nixon, and the Ukrainian Leonid Brezhnev. Today it is one of the country's main exhibitions for selling the domestic German tourism product. GMT is not tied to a specific venue. So, the first forum was held in Frankfurt, and the last one (in 2003) in Chemnitz. The indicators of development and growth of authority over this period are as follows: in 1972, 62 German exhibitors and representatives of 51 companies from 11 countries participated in the exhibition; in 2003, 363 German and 553 foreign companies from 51 countries. The exhibition area, which was 372 square meters 30 years ago, will reach 6,000 square meters this year. In 2003, among foreign delegations, the most widely represented were Americans, Britons, and Chinese, while single representatives were sent by Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Taiwan, and... Portugal.
The choice of Hamburg is unlikely to raise any questions, since it is the second largest national metropolis, the country's largest port, and a city with all the necessary infrastructure in its European standards. Moreover, it is the greenest city in Germany: more than 50% of its territory is covered by parks, squares, lakes, canals, and so on.
The organizers intend to actively acquaint exhibition guests with the advantages of their city, since it is Hamburg that is called upon to become at GMT-2004 the flagship for promoting the domestic German tourism programs for 2005, "Family vacation in Germany" and "Famous Cities". Therefore, as a cultural program, those interested are offered visits to the famous St. Michael's Cathedral, built in the Baroque style, the Hamburg Opera and musicals (Hamburg calls itself the European capital of musicals and jazz), the Alster Lake located right in the city center, which was formed back in the 13th century and covers an area larger than the entire principality of Monaco. And, of course, it is worth visiting the world-famous red-light district - the Reeperbahn street with its bars, restaurants, and the "Salambo" sex theater.
As for the number of guests, Germany Travel Mart-2004 expects about 350 companies representing the German tourism business and more than 650 foreign tour operators, travel agents, and journalists. As is customary, the first two days of the event will be devoted to main business contacts.