The Azerbaijan International Travel and Tourism Fair (AITF) will celebrate its jubilee in 2024. Scheduled for 3-5 April 2024, it will be the 20th time the event will open its doors for tourism professionals. The event will take place at Baku Expo Center. As the top event in the field of tourism in the region, AITF makes a point of bringing together thousands of global tourism sector experts on the same professional platform year after year. Since 2002, when the exhibition was held for the first time, the exhibition has proven itself as a tourism industry hub, that is, a place dedicated to travel, with new business meetings held, mutually beneficial agreements signed, and latest programs and routes for tourism presented. The exhibition, which has become an international meeting platform for the tourism industry for 19 years, brings together tourism business, local and regional tourism organizations, state structures, as well as media representatives, and closely reflects both the internal and external tourism dynamics of the region. The special attention paid by the country's leadership to both tourism and the AITF exhibition, the visit of the head of the country to this event gave an additional impetus to the development of the tourism sector and the expansion of business relations in this field. The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev visited this exhibition organized in different years and got acquainted with the exhibition expositions and participants. AITF 2023 brought the tourism sector back into the spotlight after a 3-year break caused by the pandemic. Just like before, it brought together representatives of the tourism industry, national and regional tour operators, and government agencies from different countries. Moreover, it highlighted Azerbaijan's importance as an attractive travel destination and demonstrated the Azerbaijani people’s hospitality to participants and visitors from overseas. In 2023, the event gathered 50 participants from 15 countries; apart from Azerbaijan, taking part were companies from Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cuba, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Switzerland, Türkiye, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. As always, foreign countries have put up national stands; this year, it was Belarus, the Czech Republic, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Bulgaria, a traditional participant of the exhibition, acted in the capacity of AITF 2023's main sponsor, while Uzbekistan was a partner country. Official supporter for the AITF 2023 exhibition was the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (KOBIA). The opening ceremony of the exhibition was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors, ambassadors of several countries, as well as the CEO of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau. In 2023, the fair saw more than 3000 visitors from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uzbekistan, and other countries. Through B2B-meetings organized as part of the main event, participants could connect with leading local tour operators, exchange business experience, and learn about new opportunities for business. Up to 100 B2B-meetings were held, involving 32 invited tour operators and 14 exhibitors. It is noteworthy that AITF has been awarded a quality mark by the World Exhibition Industry Association (UFI). Such mark is only issued as a result of a rigorous verification that involves full verification of declared information and compliance checks. Membership in this organization serves to strengthen AITF's international status. AITF 2023 exhibition is organized by Caspian Event Organisers. For updates on the exhibition, please visit exhibition’s social media pages and the official webpage www.aitf.az
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