Photo by Yuri Onishchuk
- The exhibition is positioned as an anniversary one; how is it different from previous ones?
- First of all, I hope, an even higher level. Over the past year we have made maximum efforts to make the exhibition better, bigger, of higher quality and better attended. As for the anniversary-related moments, various kinds of awards and diplomas are provided for those participants with whom we have been cooperating for a very long time and who believed in the exhibition long ago. At the same time, we do not plan to put on special fireworks, since UITT is distinguished primarily by its businesslike character, and exhibitors already create a fairly festive atmosphere.
- Among all the exhibitions held by your company, where does UITT rank in terms of complexity?
- It is clear that each exhibition is complicated in its own way. But UITT is one of the most complex; it is among the top three largest of all 16 that we hold, along with the construction exhibition and the food products exhibition. At the same time, we are proud that UITT is the most representative of Ukraine's tourist exhibitions. And its main complexity lies in its merits: many foreigners come, and it is very well attended.
- Which expositions would you single out?
- There are so many of them... For example, a country that is not a newcomer to our exhibitions but has appeared here with a new face is Poland. In fact, it is from UITT that the program to promote Polish summer tourism begins, and only later will it be offered throughout Europe. The Polish exposition, in particular, features health tourism in Lower Silesia and the so-called Polish Karelia - lakes in the northeast of the country. For the latter region, there is even a separate stand at the exhibition dedicated to its promotion. As always, Turkey is very strongly represented: this year it occupies about 10% of our entire exhibition. There is the national stand of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism, as well as stands of individual tour operators. Apparently, the strategic line for Turkey is to develop various business contacts with Ukraine, not only in tourism but also in light and food industries. This is very noticeable in the organization of other exhibitions as well.
- Today's UITT is, one might say, world-class. And how did it all begin?
- At one time, the first two exhibitions were organized on the initiative of Alexander Gorobets and Evgeny Samartsev. At that time, exhibition and tourism activities in Ukraine were just emerging. Then, mainly the first Ukrainian tour operators participated; there were practically no foreigners. And a couple of years later, the current organizers, represented in Ukraine by us, joined in. Nevertheless, the first two exhibitions are a full-fledged part of UITT, and it was from them that everything began to develop quite dynamically. And the resources of ITE are precisely what gave the necessary impetus to this development. By that time, we had already been holding and continue to hold a similar exhibition in Moscow - by the way, the third largest in Europe after London and Berlin. UITT, in turn, differs from all other tourist exhibitions by a very large representation of national stands - expositions not only of private companies but also of tourism ministries of different countries: Hungary, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel, Poland, Russia, Cyprus, Morocco... All these stands are financed by state programs, meaning they promote their tourism product through our exhibition. And one must have very great authority among all these ministries and organizations for them to agree to participate in the exhibition with pleasure and benefit for themselves. And the development and manufacture of mobile exhibition stands Moscow, Warsaw and other capitals order from the best design firms.
- In short, the circle is expanding?
- Of course. Today in Europe UITT is the most dynamic exhibition in terms of development, number of participants and space. For example, over the last three years the exhibition area has doubled. In terms of number of participants, probably tripled. Neither Moscow nor Berlin has such growth. But this, of course, is not only because we are so good. It is also because the market is very favorable to such growth. There is a certain economic stability, people have more money. Plus, there are many changes in tourism legislation that overall work for such stabilization. And in this, undoubtedly, is the merit of the State Tourism Administration, where professionals in their field work, who know this industry and the laws of its functioning.
The new licensing laws are not, after all, something that came from nowhere; they were a long time coming. Or, for example, the abolition of the hotel tax. Now there is hope that in the next ten years solid investments will be made in the construction of hotels. A budget program has also been adopted to promote Ukrainian products on external markets. The participation of our company and its stand in all major international exhibitions is additionally financed, and this works for the prestige of the country. In general, a certain creative Ukrainian environment has already been created in world tourism.