The sell-out fourth Bahrain International Travel Expo (BITE 2008) will open this week with the participation of more than 120 exhibitors.

The expo, being held under the patronage of Shaikh Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), will take place at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), from May 14 -17.

“BITE is the first business-to-consumer travel and tourism event in the region,” said Jamil Wafa, group chairman of Magnum Holdings, the parent company of Magnum Events and Exhibitions Management MEEM, the organiser of BITE 2008.

“It is as much for businesses as it is for the consumers, offering a huge variety of services, choices and special deals. Every year we make new additions with new participants, which makes the expo very dynamic and exciting,” he told a press conference at The Regency Intercontinental Hotel today (May 11).

Mohammed Nass, chief executive, Tourism Marketing and Promotion Project, Ministry of Information; Ronnie Middleton, Al Hilal Group managing director; and Danny Barranger,  chief commercial officer (acting), Gulf Air, attended the press conference and extended their support to the exhibition.

Hisham Al Baradie, chairman, Meem; and Abraham John, executive director, BITE, also attended the event.

The expo covers an area of 8,000 sq m and it is expected to attract around 20,000 visitors, said Wafa.

“When we first launched BITE four years ago, we started with 1,000 sq m of space and 12,500 visitors. This year it has grown to 8,000 sq m and we are expecting approximately 20,000 visitors.”

Wafa said companies and organisations from 44 countries will take part in the event. New show participants include: United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) , the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Morocco, Oman , Spain , Sweden and Tunisia.

Previous participants returning to BITE are: Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Brunei, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Wafa revealed that Bahrain’s Labor Fund is participating for the first time in BITE 2008. It will be organising a seminar to highlight the role of the fund in supporting the private sector and the tourism industry.

Bahrain Training Institute (BTI), which has recently received a license from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) allowing it to operate as an Authorised Training Centre (ATC) is also participating in BITE for the first time. The BTI will launch its newly established Travel Academy at the exhibition.

A “Hosted Buyers Program” will run alongside the exhibition, which facilitates structured networking sessions between the local tourism professionals and the international MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) specialists.
About 110 representatives from major international companies will participate in the program, said Wafa.

“Our Motto at BITE is ‘Bringing the World to Bahrain’,” reiterated Wafa.

The exhibition encompasses a wide variety of sectors ranging from airlines to car rental companies, conventions and exhibitions, cruise lines, health resorts and spas, hotel accommodation providers, MICE organizers, tourist attractions, tourism boards, tourism TV channels, tour operators, travel insurance as well as travel and tourism publications.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on May 14 by Shaikh Salman. It will be open to consumers and visitors from May 15 to 17 (Thursday - Saturday).

The platinum Sponsors for BITE 2008 are the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), along with the Ministry of Information – Tourism Affairs. Gulf Air has once ag