Azerbaijan to host biggest virtual travel trade event in October

Azerbaijan Tourism Board (ATB), the national promotion body designed to support the growth of Azerbaijan’s tourism industry, will host its biggest virtual travel trade event Travel Business Azerbaijan Online (TBA 2020) on 14 October 2020.

The online event will bring together local and international tourism professionals in hopes to forge partnerships and profitable business deals. Organised by the ATB and supported by the State Tourism Agency, the event aims to bring together 300 buyers from China and South-East Asia, Russia and CIS countries, India and South Asia, Europe, and GCC countries to establish direct communication while also serving as a platform to showcase the tourism potential of Azerbaijan. Buyers and exhibitors both will have an opportunity to appoint meetings with each other as well as to sort exhibitors based on their target markets and products thanks to AI-powered matchmaking tools that will suggest leads to participants.

Due to the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, when the tourism and hospitality sector has been hit the most given border closures, travel restrictions and the need to stay home and self-isolate, ATB has prepared a four-phased recovery plan to ensure a smooth transition into the post-pandemic era.

As part of the actions taken within the first phase of recovery, ATB is exploring new paths to overcome these obstacles, find innovative solutions by focusing on virtual communication and online tools to promote the destination.

“In these challenging times it is more than ever important to reconnect and keep in contact with our partners and industry stakeholders globally and accelerate our proposition with Travel Business Azerbaijan Online. It will be mutually beneficial for local industry and representatives from key source markets to connect with the local tourism and hospitality industry on this large scale, to build fruitful partnerships,” said Florian Sengstschmid, chief executive of ATB.

In addition to B2B meetings, TBA Online will host webinars hosted by regional managers, DMO representatives and exhibitors. “As we continue to cater to incentives and provide unique and authentic experiences, we encourage industry professionals from around the world to join us at Travel Business Azerbaijan and discover the extraordinary opportunities we have to offer,” added Sengstschmid.