Piotr Henicz: ITTF tourist fair - new name, old tradition, iconic place

From 16 to 18 March, the first International Travel & Tourism Fair Warsaw (ITTF) will take place in Warsaw. They are jointly organized by Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie and the Polish Chamber of Tourism. And the place of this event will be the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The exhibitors will include countries, regions, cities, travel agencies, hotels, spas, industry organizations, and tourist attractions.

In addition to the numerous representation of the Polish market, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Israel, Palestine, Morocco, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Malta have already announced their presence. The number of exhibitors is growing every day. Among them will also be the largest Polish travel agency - Itaka. The website for the tourism industry, Turystyka.rp.pl, is the media partner of this event.

Filip Frydrykiewicz: From time to time voices are raised that tourist fairs are a thing of the past. Meanwhile, the Polish Chamber of Tourism, of which you are the vice-president, initiates a completely new event of this nature.

Piotr Henicz: After the travel fair disappeared from Warsaw during the pandemic, the tourism industry noticed a gap in the market and we felt the need to restore a strong event, thanks to which the tourism industry will be able to bounce back after the crisis caused by the covid.

Someone who says that fairs are a thing of the past has probably never been to a tourist fair in London, Madrid or Berlin. These are huge events attracting thousands of representatives of the tourism industry and tens of thousands of spectators. After the covid period, border closures, travel restrictions, people related to tourism are happy to return there. This is despite the fact that during the pandemic it was announced that from now on everything will be done remotely, remotely, via the Internet. Nothing could be more wrong. Tourism is precisely the fact that people want to move, meet, talk face-to-face, get to know new places. The fair perfectly focuses on this need.

Importantly, Warsaw also has a thirty-year tradition of organizing tourist fairs. Our new fair refers to it. This is a new event in name only - it is supported by reliable organizers, such as the Polish Chamber of Tourism and Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, as well as experienced managers.

We also have one more advantage - the place that is the Palace of Culture and Science. The location is well known. After all, it is here that iconic events, such as book fairs or tourist fairs, have been held for many years, popular among the public, not only in Warsaw. I see ITTF as a continuation of the best traditions that have grown together with this place.

Filip Frydrykiewicz: You mentioned the largest international tourism fair attended by entrepreneurs from all over the world. Will this also be the case in Warsaw at the ITTF?

Piotr Henicz: I hope it will be so, of course with all proportions respected – Warsaw is not Berlin. As a tour operator, we meet with contractors from all over the world every day. For some time we have also been inviting them to Warsaw for this event, which will take place just a few days after ITB in Berlin. We know that not everyone will be able to come to meet us in Berlin, so they plan to come to Warsaw. And there are those who want to be at both parties. A few days between them will give them time to cool down and move from city to city.

We are currently in the process of determining the program of substantive meetings, which is what this fair is supposed to serve. On the other hand, we are also planning a meeting with part of our agency network. It will be three days of very intense work. The fair is also a meeting with the audience, with customers or potential customers of travel agencies, hotels, and tourist attractions.

Face-to-face meetings and conversations are extremely important - they build bonds and increase the credibility of our industry. By exhibiting at a joint event, we encourage you to travel, to use the services of professional organizers and at the same time we satisfy the sense of security. Especially after the trauma that society has undergone during covid, there is no better way to demonstrate that customers can feel confident and safe with us, and that they can trust travel agencies. I think this is also what our industry needs.

Itaka is preparing a large stand at the Palace of Culture and Science.

Our experienced consultants will be at the disposal of visitors - you will be able to obtain any information about our offer and our holiday destinations.
You will also be able to win attractive trips. We will inform you in advance what you need to do to participate in the competitions.

Filip Frydrykiewicz: In addition to Ithaca, other large travel agencies have announced their presence at the fair. Do you encourage your colleagues to participate in the fair?

Piotr Henicz: The core of tourism is traveling, which is driven by curiosity, the search for entertainment and relaxation. Our industry is involved in facilitating this, which is why this fair has a unique impact on us, because we ourselves bear witness. Once we fly to Madrid and London, and now others will come to us. This time, the Polish industry will be the host, which also has the advantage that it will be able to host foreign guests without large travel costs.

I treat this fair as a celebration of the tourism industry. I do not look at this event narrowly, through the prism of Ithaca's interests, but more broadly, as an opportunity to meet in one place at the same time many people connected - whether by working in travel agencies, hotels, tourist attractions, airports and airlines airlines - with tourism.

In addition to the substantive aspects that I have already mentioned, I hope that such a meeting will serve to integrate the industry and will strengthen us as a community. Tourism needs - which I observe with particular severity as the vice-president of PIT - a strong, united representation, as well as a rank commensurate with its importance for the economy. The fair is certainly an element of building this prestige.

So I strongly encourage everyone to exhibit or at least visit the ITTF. This is one of the few occasions in the year for such a broad meeting. I think not using it would be a huge mistake. And it certainly won't be a waste of time.

Source: turystyka.rp.pl