ITTFA Welcomes first US member as Luxury Travel Expo joins the fold. February 2006

ITTFA, the International Tourism Trade Fairs Association, welcomes its newest member, Luxury Travel Expo. Luxury Travel Expo is the industry’s largest gathering of luxury travel professionals in the U.S. and during its last show in Las Vegas, December 2005; it attracted 4,376 visitors and 486 exhibitors over three days, serving both international and domestic markets.

ITTFA is dedicated to underlining the continued development of the travel trade show industry, initially across Europe and more recently worldwide. The new entry requirements allow a much broader spectrum of shows to join, however the association continues to maintain, and demand, high standards from all its members and in those seeking application. In so doing, the association continues to strive for greater professionalism in the tourism exhibitions industry.

Luxury Travel Expo is the first member to join ITTFA from the USA. It is the Signature Event for the Luxury Travel Industry and is produced by Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent Magazine and Premier Hotels & Resorts. The show’s successful formula consists of an unequalled agent educational program and ample exhibit hall hours where luxury suppliers and buyers can network. The 8th edition of this prestigious show will be held December 5-7 2006 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

“We are delighted to become part of ITTFA and to be the first U.S. event accepted as a member,” said Luxury Travel Expo Sales Director Kimberly Ziegler. “Admission to the ITTFA further validates our event’s international standing and provides an opportunity for additional international exhibitors to reach North American luxury travel professionals. We look forward to sharing opinions and experiences with our ITTFA partners and to contributing to increased outbound travel bookings from the U.S for new international exhibitors.”

Luxury Travel Expo joins 19 equally prestigious market leaders in the tourism exhibition industry:

* CIS Travel Market, St. Petersburg * TTG Incontri, Rimini
* PHILOXENIA, Thessaloniki * TUR, Gothenburg
* EIBTM, Barcelona * MITT, Moscow
* World Travel Market, London * IFT Belgrade
* BTL, Lisbon * UITT, Kiev
* MATKA, Helsinki * Slovakiatour, Bratislava
* Ukraine Travel Market, Kiev * EMITT, Istanbul
* Holiday World, Prague * Arabian Travel Market, Dubai
* Utazas, Budapest * BITTM, Beijing
* SATTE, New Delhi

Tom Nutley, Chairman of Reed Travel Exhibitions, has been chairman of ITTFA/ETTFA since he helped to establish the association in 1992. “I had a long-term vision of a European trade show network which would help us to better serve the time-pressed decision-makers who attend our events and to make sure their time spent with us is as productive as possible. Now I am happy to be able to extend this vision to include shows from around the world, such as Luxury Travel Expo, and look forward to continuing our growth as a truly international association in the coming years.”

Director of the Secretariat, Wendy Walker, comments on the appointment, “We are pleased to welcome Luxury Travel Expo to the association. Forging stronger relationships with this show and other major players in the international tourism trade fair industry is a key objective for the association and will further enable all of our members to maximise the tremendous opportunities worldwide”.

For details on all ITTFA member shows and media partners, visit www.ittfa.org.
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For further information please contact: Wendy Walker
ITTFA Secretariat
PO Box 585
Richmond, Surrey, UK
TW9 1YQ
[email protected]
www.ittfa.org

Kimberly Ziegler
Sales Director – Luxury Travel Expo
757 Third Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
[email protected]
www.luxurytravelexpo,com