Continuing the long-standing tradition of gathering and promoting the tourism industry, the reputable fair event, the 44th International Tourism Fair, held from 23rd to 26th February this year, justified the epithet of the largest tourist event in the region and showed why the Belgrade Fair is a leader in its field of business, a significant fair institution, and why Belgrade and Serbia are a worthy potential host of the world specialized exhibition EXPO 2027.
The Director of the Belgrade Fair, Danka Selić, said that this year’s Tourism Fair and the HORECA-OPREMA Fair were visited by about 40 thousand stakeholders, exhibitors, representatives of the People’s Republic of China – the partner country of the fair, guests and visitors of the 44th International Tourism Fair and the 18th International Hotel and Catering Equipment Fair HORECA-EQUIPMENT which was held in the same period. The number of realized B2B meetings and the number of buyers were rated as the most successful in the last 10 or so years. The event was followed by around 1,000 accredited journalists from twenty countries.
Numerous exhibitors, professional buyers, visitors and the media expressed their satisfaction with this year’s event, which made a significant step forward compared to the previous one.
The 44th Tourism Fair was attended by exhibitors and visitors from over 30 countries and over 40 tour operators from the country and abroad. For the first time at the Tourism Fair, African countries Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Namibia presented their tourist attractions, natural beauties, and specific features.
The partner country of the 44th International Tourism Fair was the People’s Republic of China, a country with which Serbia will continue to improve outstanding partnership relations in the economy, culture, and other areas.
The B2B business program, implemented in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and the European Entrepreneurship Network, was also implemented this year with the active participation of a large number of professional tourism representatives from the participating countries, as well as domestic tourism associations, organizations and agencies that showed interest in developing their business and experience exchange during the fair.
During the Tourism Fair, more than 500 B2B meetings were organized in the designated B2B Meeting Point and Business Lounge areas in Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair.
About 80 professional buyers and international and domestic media partners contributed to the business and commercial dimension of the fair.