VAKANTIEBEURS, the Netherlands top trade and consumer travel fair, celebrates 40 years next January, having been held in the city of Utrecht since 1970. It is a member of ITTFA (International Tourism Trade Fairs Association) which represents some of the best travel trade events worldwide.
Vakantiebeurs, originally named Inspiration Market for Tourism and Recreation, was opened for the first time December 26, 1970 when it covered 1771 m and hosted 79 exhibitors. A total of 18,722 visitors attended that first show and by its 11th edition in 1981 the visitor numbers had risen to 43,000 with over 440 exhibitors.
The show has grown steadily with this year attracting 1,633 exhibitors from over 160 countries, some 20,000 travel trade professionals and over 114,000 visitors on the consumer days. Over the years it has included attractions such as the opening day ski competition in 1974 and the Travel Gala, introduced in 1997.
The 2010 issue of the show will be held from January 12 to 17 in its usual venue, the Jaarbeurs Exhibition Centre in Utrecht. The theme for 2010 will be Meet the Locals and all visitors are invited to come and experience the holiday atmosphere and to meet friendly ‘locals’ from around the world, the key objective being to establish and reinforce personal contact between exhibitors and locals.