BITF2004 Kicks Off for 4-Day-Run on Oct. 21
- The fourth travel fair attracts 200 exhibitors, 80,000 spectators

Busan International Travel Fair 2004 (BITF2004) opened on Oct. 21 for a four-day-run at the BEXCO in Busan with about 200 tourism-related firms and organizations participating.

Organized by the Busan Metropolitan City government and sponsored by the Busan City Tourism Association, BEXCO, and KOTFA, BITF2004 served as a display of exhibitions on global tourism resources as well as an arena of exchanging tourism information and tourism marketing activities.

The participating exhibitors set up about 350 display booths on the BEXCO exhibition area covering 8,775 sq. meters. BITF2004 was composed of exhibitions, official ceremonies, and auxiliary events.

BITF2004 has established itself as an international tourism fair designed to contribute to the promotion of the host city's tourism profile. The Busan Metropolitan City government is exerting itself to capitalize on BITF2004 as means of enhancing the city's image abroad in the tourism and other sectors ahead of the APEC 2005 Korea and "Visit Korea 2005", each slated for next year.

The fourth travel fair is designed to provide exhibitors and spectators with an opportunity to exchange information on tourism which is expected to get a boost in the implementation of the five-day workweek system.

The exhibition space is divided into a tourism business section deigned to house such exhibitor as local autonomous government bodies, tourism associations, tourism agencies, hotels, resorts and tour media outlets; an international tourism section aimed at accommodating countries, their cities, Seoul-based foreign tourism promotion agencies, members of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asian-Pacific Cities (TPO), cities with Busan's sisterhood ties; a tourism education section for displaying such exhibits or like tourism-related universities and high schools. Each exhibition hall runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the exhibition period until Oct. 24.

The business lounge is offering Internet and other services for holding trade consultations. A press center for journalists covering the travel fair will be set up along with the main stage, equipped with such devices as multicubes, ready for holding auxiliary events.

An opening ceremony was held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 21 at the entrance of the exhibition site with 500 people, including Busan Mayor Hur Nam-sik, participating, before raising the official curtain for the exhibitions. A welcoming reception will be held at 7 p.m. on the same day. A closing ceremony is slated for 5 p.m. on Oct. 24 on the main stage.

Organizers said BITF2004 has been upgraded from the third 2003 travel fair. BITF2004 features familiarization tours, a seminar on tourism, organized by the parliamentary culture and tourism industry research institute and a tourism photo session as well as the performances by Korean and foreign traditional troupes in a bid to attract more spectators.

Familiarization tours will be offered only to government officials from participating cities and applicants participating in the travel fair on Oct. 22 and 23 to publicize the port city's excellent tourist attractions. The seminar will take up such issues as the acceptance of inbound foreign travelers and marketing strategies as well as ways of attracting more tourists from abroad.

Eighty-six successful contest entries from the Fifth National Busan Tourism Photo Contest will be on display during the exhibition period, while Korean and foreign traditional companies will present their unique performances.

Organizations expect that the travel fair would attract an estimated 80,000 spectators during the exhibition, and economic benefits it would bring are projected at about 2 billion won.   nw