East Africa’s leading travel event is right around the corner and it’s shaping up to be another great year for the travel/tourism industry. The region’s largest tourism companies will be present to showcase new products, services, and to network over the course of 3 days at the Karibu Fair. Nearly 300 companies from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda will all be in attendance.
The event is hosted by the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, the Tanzania Tourist Board, and the Ministry of Natural Resource and Tourism. The Karibu Fair will be held from May 31st-June 2nd at Magereza Open Ground, Arusha Tanzania.
Exhibitors
Because of the popularity of the Karibu Fair, the event draws a lot of interest from B2B companies. The exhibitors at the event will include:
- Tourist boards
- Safari and camping companies
- In-bound tour operators
- Air and land transport providers
- Eco-tourism companies
- Hotels and lodges
- Mountain climbing outfitters
- Camping equipment manufacturers
Many of the exhibitors from past events will be back in attendance such as Kuhama Camp, Sun Africa Hotels, and others. Each year, the number of exhibitors have increased and 2013 is no exception.
What to expect from Karibu
The “Fair” portion of the event is only one aspect of the 3-day experience. The major goal is to match buyers and suppliers to each other and to function as a networking event. It is very rare for all of the industry’s biggest companies to be in one location, so suppliers and buyers are encouraged to take full advantage.
Business owners get the opportunity to meet face to face and update each other on their new ventures and products, as well as build relationships. Tour agents from overseas have the chance to barter deals and form new partnerships with East African companies. Rather than having to manually go out and research individual companies, Karibu puts everyone in one location for easy access.
The event is expected to draw a crowd of over 7,500 visitors from South Africa, Europe, the U.S, China, and East African partner states. The Executive Secretary of Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, Mustapha Akuunay stated, “Nearly 300 exhibitors are expected to take part in this year’s fair, along with media and thousands of regional and international visitors.”
Sirili Akko, acting manager of the Karibu Far says that the first day of the event is dedicated strictly to travel trade. The general public will have access on the second day to meet with exhibitors and delegates. The event will finish off with an eventful day of entertainment, sky diving, and networking.
3G Direct Presentation
3G Direct will be present to showcase our new mobile payment application. This will be the first time many travel and tourism companies get to see the technology in action. We will be presenting both the mobile application that allows agents to take payments remotely and the swipe card attachment that is compatible with iPhones and Android devices. Visitors will be able to get an exclusive preview of the technology before it officially rolls out. We are very excited to finally allow the public to get a glimpse of the future of payment processing.
The major goal of the Karibu Fair
The ultimate goal of the fair is to draw attention to East Africa as a tourist destination. The region has long been very popular amongst U.S travellers who want the Safari experience, and Karibu is looking to expand the profile even larger. The event itself will help stimulate the East African economy and show companies firsthand what the region has to offer.
We look forward to seeing many of you at the fair. Registration is currently ongoing and visitors are encouraged to pre-register.
Author
Eran Feinstein is the founder of Direct Pay Online. Direct Pay Online provides global e-commerce and online payments solutions for the travel and related industries He is a leading authority in the fields of e-commerce, travel and payments, having acquired extensive experience from various parts of the world.
