EMITT 2012: Welcome, world

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The fair was like a magic carpet that carried the visitors from one country to another in a matter of minutes, giving them fleeting glimpses of smell, taste, and ambience of each place.

The East Mediterranean International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (EMITT) was held 9-12 February at the TUYAP Exhibition Centre in Beylikduzu, Istanbul Turkey. It was the 16th annual edition of the show attended by 60 countries, and aimed to gather tourism professionals from around the world.

EMITT is organised by EKIN and sponsored by THY-A.O. in partnership with the Turkish Hotels Federation (TUROFED) and Tourism Investors Association, and officially supported by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. International exhibitors were located in one of the 12 halls available, while the rest housed Turkish tour operators, hotels, and tourism related industries.

Egypt’s booth was relatively small compared to the allocated space and large presence of hotels and tourist companies in the World Travel Market in London. There were seven travel agencies and hotel representatives, along with Egypt Air, the official national airlines. The booth showcased diverse products on offer, ranging from history, beaches, culture, to archeology and wellness, under the motto ‘We’re Egypt’.

While there were several free gifts for visitors, there was also a table selling Egyptian handicrafts from Egypt’s various and eclectic regions.

Nehad Gamal El-Din, representative of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism in Turkey, came up with the idea of screening a documentary film about the 25 January Revolution titled ‘The Road to Tahrir’. The timing and choice were successful, especially that Egyptians had just celebrated the first anniversary of their revolution that overthrew the Mubarak regime.

Argentina was the honorary member at EMITT 2012, with its Minister of Tourism Carlos Enrique leading the exhibit in a friendly spirit. Meanwhile, it was the debut of Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Slovenia, Venezuela and the Czech Republic at this year’s fair. In 2011, 52,800 attendees visited the show; this year, there was a 15 per cent growth since last year.

The opening ceremony of the fair was a fashion show that paraded the evolution of Turkish society by showcasing fashion trends during different Turkish epochs. The exhibit was followed by a news conference for a coterie of Turkish officials headed by the Turkish Minister of Tourism Ertugrul Günay.

Turkish officials spoke in their mother tongue with simultaneous English translation, and focused on the fact that sustainable tourism has the lion’s share of their interest and efforts. Also, that Turkey’s Ministry of Tourism is trying to preserve the country’s natural resources to their best capacity, asserting that Turkey’s vision is to maximize efforts to protect the environment and increase hotels applying the Go Green concept.

Various international exhibitors competed for the attention of visitors, and one of the most popular booths belonged to Cuban tour operator Guantanamera. It showcased a live Cuban band, which attracted many visitors to the booth as they swayed to the Latin beat.

Medeli is a Turkish manufacturer of musical instruments, also successfully used musicians playing the piano and violin to lure customers to its booth.

As for food sampling and delicacies, almost all exhibitors offered finger food and samples of their native food or drinks, as well as gifts for visitors. The Moroccan booth attracted many visitors by serving their famous tea with mint, alongside a henna artist delicately etching designs on guests. Meanwhile, North Cyprus offered samples of their national food of delicious pastry called Hellim Boregi and lemonade, served by hostesses in handmade traditional dress.