The China International Travel Mart 2006 is slated to be one of the biggest and best CITM events ever.

Organized by the China National Tourism Administration, Shanghai Municipal People's Government and the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, thousands of attendees will flock to Shanghai between November 16 and November 19, 2006 to take part in the activities at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

Henk Meyknecht, General Manager of the Marco Polo Shenzhen, says, "We have participated in CITM before and our expectations are very high. It gives us a great opportunity to meet with representatives from the travel industry, global consortia and regional IT bookers. Our focus is to boost business for our domestic and regional distribution channels, ensure that we offer a fair room rate and listen to the players in the market."

Who comes to CITM each year? Tourism associations, travel wholesalers, travel agencies, tourist attractions, airlines, railways, cruise companies, car rental companies, hotel management groups, holiday resorts, exhibition centers, computerized reservation system providers, consulting organizations for market development, media, and other related travel organs. Everybody comes to CITM to see and be seen. It's the top travel industry event on the calendar each year.

Meyknecht adds, "It gives us direct feedback from our travel trade customers if we are on the right track or need some adjustments in terms of pricing, promotion and design of our hotel rooms and banquet facilities. At the same time CITM is an excellent place for networking with our colleagues in the hospitality industry. It is important to listen to the latest trends and market development from other hoteliers."

John Serbrock, Regional Vice President Sales & Marketing for Kempinski Hotels, has similar ideas and says, "We feel that this trade show has become an important platform for us to enhance our brand awareness and showcase our properties in China."

CITM is held in Shanghai and Kunming, alternatively, each year. As the largest professional travel mart in Asia, CITM has drawn the attention of people in the tourism industry worldwide. The CITM Organizing Committee is sparing no effort to invite, through various channels, buyers with strong competitiveness from China and other countries and regions in the world, to participate in the mart. Strict participation conditions and invitation procedures guarantee the quality of buyers, so that the participants will enjoy the great benefits at CITM.

In addition, professional trade days are arranged exclusively for registered delegates to ensure their participation in CITM is valuable. Participants can also attend specialized symposiums and lectures to trace the latest development trends of international tourism.

How does Shanghai compare to Kunming? Bernadette Dennis, Vice President, Asia Pacific and Global Sales Organization for Marriott International says, "Kunming does not have the infrastructure for a 'global' meeting, therefore it is a poor location for such an important trade show."

"I attended CITM for the first time in Kunming," Serbock says, "so I am unable to make a comparison with the one in Shanghai. But from what everybody is telling me, the Shanghai show is larger both in terms of exhibitors as well as visitors, which is understandable considering Shanghai's stature and popularity."

With two trade days kept exclusively for registered delegates and two days open to the public, the 2300 prepared booths are planned to dazzle attendees as they peruse the 57,500 square meter exhibition floor space.

"This will be one of the largest turnouts since we started participating in CITM, taking up an exhibition area of 54 sqm. Also, we will be having our International Hospitality Alliance members like Warwick International Hotels Group and the Mirvac Hotels & Resorts Group, Australia, joining us at this year's show," says Willie K.H. Ooi, Senior Vice President of Gloria International Hotels.