Rome To Host First Global Travel Fair

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. October 14, 2008

ROME, Italy, September 29, 2006. All roads lead to Rome, or so the saying goes. Next March 22-24, 2007 - the travel industry will be beating a path to the Eternal City for Globe, the biggest travel fair to specialize in the Mediterranean region.

It is the first tourism fair in Italy to be modeled on the major international events but with the added value of Italian flair and style that is renowned around the world. Globe is the newest addition to the travel trade calendar and aims to present the whole Mediterranean region to international buyers.

"The Mediterranean is the world's number one tourism region and very significant market that fully deserves its own international trade fair," said Marco Trucco, Business Development and Marketing manager of ExpoGlobe, the organizing company. "The event is focused on the fact that the Mediterranean is both a source market for outbound tourism and a big destination."

"Globe will be a marketplace for the whole Mediterranean region, including Southern Europe, North Africa and Middle East. Many countries hold their own national trade fair and participate in shows like ITB Berlin and World Travel Market in London. But buyers cannot attend every local and national travel marts. And World tourism exhibitions are so big that most of the buyers cannot take their time and visit all the countries and companies they would like to. So it is time to organize a dedicated platform for the Mediterranean region."

Over 1,000 buyers representing top wholesalers dealing with the Mediterranean will be invited and fully hosted to travel to Rome, from 40 countries. The timing of Globe is critical, coming in late March 2007, which makes it perfect for the needs of international exhibitors and Italian operators to present their high-season programs and for buyers to contract services for the years to come. International buyers will benefit from a prestigious hosted buyer program that will bring major players in the industry and enable them to make contacts and negotiate deals face-to-face in a focused business environment.

The fair will be organized in trading themes designed around product not just geographic destinations. There will be a global tourism pavilion, a section for wholesalers, space for non-Mediterranean Europe and an area for long-haul destinations. There will be as many as 992 booths and as this is the first event of its kind in Rome, Italy will feature prominently.

But Globe representatives are active in presenting the Rome event at travel trade events around the world. Marco Trucco and Elena Di Tondo, Exhibition Director, were in Cairo recently to sign up the main companies in Egypt and the Middle East. Already Algeria, Libya, Egypt and Tunisia have expressed strong interest in investing in Globe, along with typical Mediterranean destinations like Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Malta and Cyprus.

"Our feedback so far is stellar. That's because this new global magnet for the world will be located in the exact centre of the Mediterranean area: Rome and the trade show will serve both the European domestic and the international markets. We will have the top worldwide players in the travel and tourism industry from the first edition," said Trucco.

"And in order to bring a new kind of visitors in a travel event, we have created a project dedicated to investments in real estate and franchising. It' called "Investment@Globe". There's where capitals can meet projects. We invite banks, equity funds, financial institutions and private investors to browse among projects, land parcels, golf courses, leisure ports and other properties showcased by real estate developers, public agencies and governments."

Globe will be strictly trade only. "We know that mixing consumers and trade at the same event does not work anymore," says Trucco. But consumers are not left out.

Globe will have, at the same time, a B2C side. Not in the fairground but in downtown Rome, from Thursday to Sunday. It's called "Globe in the City" and it will be a travel and tourism festival in the most famous squares of Rome. The program, fully coordinated by Expoglobe, will include exhibition spaces for promotion and entertainment. Foreign national tourism boards and Italian regions will showcase their culture, folklore and food right in the streets."

'Globe in the city' will involve also hotels, galleries and venues around Rome for seminars, job recruiting, conferences and forums. This event will be heavily advertised through national and international media to attract local people and tourists.

Rome has never before hosted a travel trade fair on such a scale. Globe will be unique in other ways. The promotional and planning web site is in multiple languages, including Arabic. Another key innovation at Globe is that exhibitors can book their stands online, at www.globe07.com. "The freedom to choose where to stay within their relevant business areas is very attractive to exhibitors," says Trucco. "It saves time and makes planning much easier. We have already sold a sizeable share of exhibitor space through the web site. We have received very good feedback from this innovation as well."

"And this is just the beginning. High level decision makers will play their strategic role and year after year will make the Rome trade show a not-to-be-missed event, a landmark and point of reference to understand the market trends and explore every possible opportunity for doing business in the Mediterranean."

ExpoGlobe, the organizing company, is a joint venture between Fiera di Roma and Rimini Fiera Gruppo and draws on the know-how of TTG Italia which has been organising the most important business-to-business event in Italy, TTG Incontri for the past 30 years. Infact, TTG Italia's CEO, Paolo Audino, is also at the helm of ExpoGlobe.The "New Fiera di Roma" exhibition center is just 5 km from the Rome International Airport at Fiumicino.

For the first edition, Globe will use 4 of the 23 pavilions, for a total of over 15 thousand net square meters of exhibition. The Globe07 travel exhibition takes place at the "New Fiera di Roma", in Rome from 22 to 24 March 2007.