Monday, February 12, 2024
2024 starts with a bang as New Deal Europe’s event in SE Europe shines, spotlighting Tirana’s tourism and B2B travel market to global buyers.
Kicking off 2024 on a high note, New Deal Europe initiated a landmark event in the realm of South East European tourism. The Albania 2024 Tourism and Travel Exhibition, a joint venture with Iceberg Exhibitions, was held in Tirana last week, marking a resounding success. This event was distinguished by its exclusive B2B marketplace, attracting over 70 participants. Among these were 30 distinguished international buyers hailing from the USA, UK, India, and several pivotal European countries.
This bustling event also set the stage for a 2-day exploration tour designed to showcase Albania’s most captivating attractions, thanks to a collaboration with Alba Trip.
Robert Dee, Co-Director of New Deal Europe commented, ‘After our inaugural event in the region, and our first partnership with Iceberg Exhibitionsin 2022, we returned to the Tourism and Travel Show with a record number of international buyers, all very eager to do more business in Albania and the region. All the delegates at the b2b sessions had a full day schedule meaning around 1,000 meetings happened on the day. I was also delighted to be joined at the opening ceremony by the Minister of Tourism for Albania, Ms Mirela Kumbaro. Her support undoubtedly indicates the importance of this event for Albania.’
Enejda Sheku, MD of Iceberg Exhibitions said, ‘In the wake of Albania’s tourism boom in 2023, with over 10 million tourist visitors, this event has taken on added significance. Our collaboration with New Deal Europe truly delivers global connections for tourism businesses in the Balkan region, and we look forward to building on our already strong foundations to deliver more together in the future.’
Tine Murn the co-founder of NDE added, ‘This was our tenth event and third in the region, and we have an enormous demand for future events in other countries too. Our partners are firmly embracing the New Deal Europe way of doing events, and appreciate the quality of the businesses we bring together, and the importance of the topics we cover for them. This year in Albania we had a record number of buyers, and, importantly, we brought tour operators from the US and UK who are leaders in their field. What’s more, we are also almost sold out for our flagship event, The NDE Marketplace and Forum, on 16th April in London. I truly believe that the future in travel lies in smaller, regionally orientated events like ours.’
The gathering provided a prime networking platform for international buyers to engage with local enterprises, offering them a unique chance to delve into Tirana’s lively food and entertainment offerings and to explore Albania’s principal tourist destinations. Notably, the event was attended by renowned entities such as Tauck, Martin Randall Travel, G Touring, G Adventures, Gate 1 Travel, and Travelzoo, further elevating its prestige within the global travel B2B and tourism sector.
Tags: Europe, Tirana, Tourism, Travel, Travel market
Monday, February 12, 2024
