Tourism expo for Arusha

East Africa's premier tourism exposition, the 11-year-old Karibu Travel and Tourism Fair (KTTF), is slated for early June in Tanzania's safari capital city of Arusha.

The largest and most ambitious travel industry event in the region and second in Africa after Indaba in South Africa, KTTF has become 'the place to get together' for the region's travel industry partners with others from around the world.Official organizers, the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO), said the 2011 KTTF, taking place from June 3 to 5 just outside of Arusha, promises to be the largest ever.

The EA partner states are targeting a slice of the 90 million Asian tourists expected to travel abroad this year and spend a staggering US$86 billion in 2011.KTTF is expected to attract more than 7 500 visitors from EA partner states, South Africa, Asia mainly China, the US and Europe.

'Nearly 300 exhibitors are anticipated to take part in this year's fair, along with media and thousands of regional and international visitors,' said Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (TATO) executive secretary Mustapha Akunaay.The KTTF will draw participants from Asia, Europe the US, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, South Africa, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, DRC and the host, Tanzania.

According to Akunaay, the first day of KTTF will be exclusively for the travel trade, while the second day will be open to the general public to interact with exhibitors and delegates.The last day will be especially for trade visitors and travel writers with entertainment, sky diving and business exchange.

This year the KTTF fair focuses on marketing East Africa as a single tourist destination, an initiative that along with others puts the show in an enviable and potentially enormously lucrative position.KTTF's major objective is to raise the regional profile by promoting EA tourism to the global market and to bring all key industry players in EA together in one place, at one time.

Additionally, the fair aims to create opportunities for international visitors and overseas tour agents to meet and network with members of the EA tourism industry, bring new destinations, facilities and products to the attention of overseas tour agents and facilitate opportunities for overseas tour agents to visit the national parks and properties. Part of the uniqueness and excitement of the KTTF is that it is an outdoor event that offers a real safari experience. Karibu means 'welcome' in Swahili.

Source = southerntimesafrica