Under the
theme ‘Tourism: The Smile Industry’ the 26th edition of BTL - Lisbon
International Tourism Fair, which takes place from 12 to 16 March at FIL
(Parque das Nações), pays tribute to hospitality, friendliness and the art of
welcoming, one of the strengths of national tourism, in an event where the
Meeting Industry (MI) segment and the Hosted Buyers programme have special
focus.
Promoted by the AIP Foundation, through AIP - Fairs, Conferences and Events, which this year made an overall investment of 1 million euros in the organisation of the exhibition, BTL 2014 will be attended by more than 1,000 companies and organisations, of which about 100 will be present for the first time. In this year’s event, the organisation aims to exceed the 65,000 visitors that attended the 2013 event.
Occupying
an area of 30,000 m2, BTL is held in 3 pavilions and an outdoor area. Pavilion
1 is for the entities promoting national tourism - regional directorates and
entities, as well as centres from north to south and from the islands.
Municipalities, accommodation offers and services are represented in Pavilion
2. In this pavilion, the space dedicated to gastronomic tourism will not go
unnoticed. This is one of the bulwarks of national tourism, both for the
diversity of flavours and combinations so typical of each region and for the
high quality of the products used in preparation, completed with the famous
Portuguese wines and traditional desserts.
The
international area, with operators, distributors, entertainment and services,
is in Pavilion 3, where 30 destinations will be represented: Angola, Brazil,
Cape Verde, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Macau, Morocco, Mozambique, the
Dominican Republic, São Tomé, Taipei, Tunisia, Turkey, Andalusia, Formentera,
São Paulo, Andorra, Dubai, the USA, Russia.
This year,
Austria, Malaysia, Panama, Amazonas, Gramado, Vitória, Pará, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the Philippines will be attending BTL for the first time.
The first
two days of BTL are reserved for professionals in the tourism sector, but the
exhibition will also be open to the general public on 14 March, from 6 pm.
At a time
when many Portuguese start planning their holidays, participating companies
take advantage of their participation to promote Easter campaigns and to
anticipate Summer offers, through exclusive BTL campaigns. During the weekend,
visitors have personalised service and have access to prices, promotions and
special offers, which in some cases can be up to 70% off.
With an
estimated 2,500 foreign professionals expected to attend and more than 2,500
professional meetings expected to be held during the event, BTL will once again
be focusing strongly on its foreign buyers programme.
The Hosted
Buyers programme, organised by BTL in partnership with Turismo de Portugal and
TAP Portugal, aims to attract international buyers specifically interested in
the Portugal destination. So far, 400 Hosted Buyers are confirmed from various
segments, coming from markets as diverse as Germany, Austria, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, Denmark, Spain, the USA, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Italy,
Norway, Poland, the UK, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland.
State of Amazonas and Azores are the guest
destinations at the 26th BTL
Reflecting
its focus on the theme of sustainability and ecotourism, a tourism segment that
has been showing increasing demand - according to the World Tourism
Organisation, the global growth of green travel is between 15 to 25% per year -
the Guest National Destination at this year’s 26th BTL will be the Azores
region.
The State
of Amazonas, the largest Brazilian Federal State, is the Guest International
Destination. The participation of the State of Amazonas will feature some
well-known attractions, as is the case of the shows with the bulls, Caprichoso
and Garantido. Its presence will be also marked by the presentation of the
first ecological soccer ball produced with rubber from the Amazon rainforest,
the Caramuri EcoBall.
Note that
this year the Brazil destination will be represented by several States on an
independent basis.
Meeting Industry booming at BTL
As BTL is
the largest national tourism fair and the largest international Portuguese
Language exhibition (10 billion km2 of Portuguese Language tourism) and a
privileged meeting point for CPLP tourism, the major focus of this year’s BTL
will be the Meeting Industry segment. This line has contributed to increased
offers from new exhibitors at the fair, such as operators and hotels,
particularly from Brazil.
CPLP and
Latin America Business Forums on the BTL Conferences agenda
Of the
conferences scheduled for the professional public, the organisation of BTL 2014
will be highlighting the I Forum of Business and Tourism Investments in the
CPLP, a joint initiative of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and the
Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), which has the support of the
Secretary of State for Tourism in Portugal and the Lisbon Tourism Fair (BTL),
and the Latin America Forum, an event organized by IPDAL and BTL which will
bring Ambassadors from Latin America and tourism entrepreneurs and official
Portuguese entities together to promote the Portugal destination and the
development of synergies.
The 26th
Lisbon International Tourism Fair will be organising the BTL Blogger Travel
Awards 2014 for the first time. These are designed to reward the best travelblogs in Portugal and in the Portuguese language which stood out in 2013.
The awards
comprise four categories: Best Personal Travel Blog, Best Professional Travel
Blog, Best Travel Photography Blog and Best Travel Blog Elected by the Public.
Along with
the prizes for best travel blogs sponsored by BTL, on the 12th the fair will
host the award ceremony for the Publituris Portugal Trade Awards.
All in all,
in this the fourth year of the awards from Publituris magazine, there are 13
categories, including the Best Cruise Company, Best GSA Aviation or Best Space
for Events.
BTL supports Start-ups and SMEs
In 2014,
BTL is also seeking to establish itself as a reference business platform for
all start-ups and SMEs linked to the tourism sector and that want to make their
products and services known.
This year,
BTL has launched a programme of special conditions for start-ups in the tourism
area that are less than a year old and that have up to two workers, preferably
residing in business incubators. This measure at BTL 2014 is aimed at welcoming
new micro-enterprises, in the services and tourist facilities area, with very
favourable conditions.
BTL Club exclusive for exhibitors and sector
professionals
BTL -
International Tourism Fair - set up the BTL Club in order to create more
dynamics between theplayers in the sector, providing a unique opportunity to
discuss and conduct business, explore new markets and attract new customers,
share experiences and to learn about new work tools.
The BTL
Club is reserved for BTL exhibitors from all sectors and professional visitors
in the tourism sector with a direct influence on buying or purchasing in the
following areas: Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Organisers of Congresses and
events, Organisers of business and incentives programmes, Online Tour Operators
and the Media.
BTL Club
members have free access to BTL every day of the Fair and can bring a guest on
days open to the general public. They also have access to the BTL Lounge - a
space reserved for cardholders.
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