TURIN, BOLOGNA AND VERONA THAI ROADSHOW

As a travel sales and marketing representation company you need to be flexible, willing and able to help out when required.  Jonathan from Select Representation has just returned from attending a 3 day ‘Thailand Roadshow’ c/o Mappamondo (28 – 31Oct19).  This well organised tour of northern Italy incorporated desk top style presentations to travel agents in Turin, Bologna and Verona.

The Italian market is not one that Select Representation usually covers, but when our trusted long-term partner ‘The Old Phuket – Karon Beach’ asked if we could attend on their behalf, we jumped at the chance.  Of course, it’s always good to learn about other market sectors and, in particular, understand their typical requirements for booking a resort in Thailand.

2019 has been a tough year for Thailand from the Italian market, so Mappamondo decided to focus this year’s roadshow on exhibitors only from Thailand, rather than the usual inclusions from other neighbouring South East Asian nations.  The aim was clear – To provide Thai hoteliers with the platform to promote their products and encourage agents to book for 2020.

So, what 5 important things did we learn?  (1) Italians mainly travel in high season and, in particular both July and August  (2) Having a beautiful beach location is vital (3) Value for money is important (4) Avoiding the crowds preferred (5) Italian travel people are warm and friendly (5) Italy has much better food than the UK!

Next week, we head to EXCEL in London for World Travel Market, regarded as one of the top travel trade shows globally. 3 busy days of meetings…..here we come!