UITT

Yet another successful edition of Ukraine’s largest and most important travel industry event, UITT, the Ukraine International Travel and Tourism Exhibition organised by ITE Travel Exhibitions (UK) and Premier Expo (Ukraine) took place at the International Exhibition Centre (IEC), Kiev, on 29th March – 1st April 2006. 850 international and local companies from 54 countries and regions participated in the event and benefited from the exposure to some 25,000 visitors of which 8,500 were travel trade professionals.

International sales at UITT2006 registered a staggering 40% increase compared to the 2005 edition, prompting the Organisers to consider expansion to a second pavilion for the 2007 edition to meet the ever-growing demand for the event.

Countries represented included Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Seychelles, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine and USA.

For the first time, UITT was joined by national tourist boards from Argentina, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Maldives and San Marino. Such new destinations as Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Jordan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Slovenia and USA were represented by international private companies. Established exhibitors included national tourist boards from Austria, Bulgaria, Catalunya, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Dubai, Egypt, France, Hungary, India, Malta, Switzerland, Thailand and Tunisia.

The international travel community was successfully brought together with such key players of the Ukrainian travel industry as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Kyiv City State Administration, Ministry of Health Resorts and Tourism of the Crimea, regional tourist boards of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytsk, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sevastopol, Sumy, Ternopol, Vinnytsya, Volyn, Zakarpattya, Zaporizhzhya and Zhytomyr, as well as a large number of local private companies.

UITT enjoys the official support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine and Kyiv City State Administration.
The official opening ceremony was attended by Igor Likhovy - Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Anatoly Pakhlya - Head of the State Committee for Tourism and Resorts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine, Eugeny Samartsev - Head of the National Social Board for Tourism and Resorts of Ukraine, Vladimir Brynzyak - Deputy Minister of Family, Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Mikhail Sparyk - Head of the Municipal Committee of Kiev, Alexander Perov - Director of Premier Expo, as well as 29 ambassadors.
President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko, in his welcome letter read out at the opening ceremony by Igor Likhovy, stated that, “the Ukrainian land has always been famous for its natural resources and rich cultural heritage. The Ukrainian tourism industry has very important tasks to fulfil — to promote Ukraine in the world and set the image of the Ukrainians as a hospitable modern European nation”.
One of the highlights at UITT2006 was the annual awards ceremony held at the gala dinner, which took place on the evening of the 29th April at the Rus Hotel. The awards were presented to Turkey Ministry of Tourism for the best international stand; Egyptian Tourism Authority for long term contribution to the Ukrainian market; Argentina Secretaria de Turismo for innovation; Atlas Business Service for innovation and promotion of the Polish SPA & wellness resorts; Transaero for the best debut; Lik-Tour for the active participation and creative approach; with Grand Prix of UITT 2006 going to Karya Tour.

The main highlight of UITT 2006 was the launch of the MICE Ukraine 2006 International Conference ‘The Global MICE Market Today and Tomorrow’ which was held alongside the main exhibition on 31 March 2006. The speakers included prominent Ukrainian and international industry experts, such as Tony Carey, the founder of the UK Chapter of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and Yury Bezukladnikov, the Counsellor to the Head of the State Committee for Tourism and Resorts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Ukraine.
The Organisers are confident about the future of the event and anticipate a further considerable growth for UITT2007, which will take place at the IEC on 28-31 March 2007.
Frederique Maurell, Senior Event & Sales Manager states, ‘For the past years, we have been testifying the fantastic growth and development of the Ukrainian travel industry. The tremendous potential of the market is widely acknowledged as outbound figures reached 15 millions in 2004. Strong governmental support, investments in tourism infrastructure and cancellations of visa for EU members, among other initiatives, have strongly positioned Ukraine as one of the fastest developing tourism market in Europe. In parallel, UITT 2006 proudly presented to the industry the largest event to this date. The future is bright as already UITT 2007’s sales are confirming another record year.’
UITT is a member of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA), International Travel Trade Fairs Association (ITTFA), CECTA (Central European Countries Travel Association), ICCA (International Convention and Congress Association).

ITE Travel Exhibitions are the organisers of Russia’s and the Ukraine’s largest and most important travel industry exhibitions MITT and UITT. Both are annual events.