Chengdu, China: The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart will be held at the Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Centre (CCNICEC) here in Chengdu from 15th to 17th September 2013. Chengdu will be the first city to host PTM in midwest China. The Dispatch News Desk (DND) reports.
The China outbound market continues to grow exponentially, with over 80 million people outbound travellers at the end of 2012. China also remains as the top inbound destination in Asia Pacific. Based on PATA forecasts, the mainland is set to peak at 147.4 million visitors by 2017. This is the kind of momentum that will drive business connections and growth at this year’s PATA Travel Mart.
PATA Travel Mart is a PATA signature event and a premier travel trade show in the Asia Pacific region. The Mart offers a dynamic programme and remarkable platform to showcase travel products and services from around the Asia Pacific region. PATA Travel Mart brings together hundreds of international buyers and sellers in one marketplace.
Helmut Mochel, Director, Eurasia Erlebnisreisen, Germany says, “I enjoyed participating and was happy with the new business contacts generated. The system of prearranged appointments is very useful. Many of the buyer delegates were high qualified and represented interesting companies”.
Joel Keimelo, Marketing Officer, PNG Tourism Promotion Authority, Papua New Guinea said, “PATA Travel Mart 2012 was a big success. For my clients who attended they are already talking about making business in 2013 … I believe PATA is the ideal platform to do business”.
“Congratulations in hosting a very successful Travel Mart (2012, in Manila). The PATA organising team went out of their way to make us comfortable. The arrangements were superb and to clock-work precision. Congratulations to you for one of the best travel marts I have attended” comments Paul Ramjugernath, D&Y Travel Concepts, South Africa.
“PTM was a useful event for me indeed. I met up with new and existing friends in the industry under one roof. It was great”, says Andy Ling , President, Canada One Travel, Canada.
Chengdu is located on the edge of the fertile plains of the Red Basin in China’s Sichuan Province. Due to its agricultural wealth, Chengdu is sometimes called the “Land of Milk and Honey”. The Funan river bisects the city, although boat traffic, common until the 1960’s, has all but vanished.
The greater city area is now divided into 5 urban districts, 4 sub-urban districts and 9 counties, altogether home to more than 14 million people. Chengdu has the reputation as a very “laid-back” city that emphasizes culture and relaxation and as a result of this and much green space is ranked one of the most livable mega-cities in China. It is credited with a good nightlife scene and contains many new western style buildings in the large city center.
Summer weather is hot and humid, as the city is surrounded by small mountains to the east and sits in the Red Basin. Furthermore, an hour to the west lie the foothills of the mighty Tibetan Plateau and the fabulously scenic mountains of west Sichuan. The city is famous for its lack of sun, so don’t come expecting to get a sun tan.
