The Bilkent University Department of Tourism and Hotel Management took part in TravelExpo Ankara 2019, an international travel and tourism fair sponsored by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies and the Turkish Hoteliers Federation. The theme of this year’s TravelExpo was cultural heritage.
This was the fourth time the fair has been held; it took place November 14–17 at the Congresium Ankara International Convention and Exhibition Center. Ankara Mayor Vasip Şahin, Ankara Chamber of Commerce Chair Gürsel Baran and Ankara Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Kamir Özer were present for the opening ceremony. As part of the expo, a number of panel discussions were held on topics related to cultural heritage, sustainable tourism and preservation of archeological sites in Turkey.
Twenty-one countries (including Thailand, Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia and Vietnam), 45 cities and 249 exhibitors took part in this year’s fair, which attracted more than 50,000 visitors. The purpose of the event was to promote business-to-business networking by bringing travel and tourism providers, buyers and intermediaries together. Bilkent THM was among the exhibitors at TravelExpo, where its stand contributed to the promotion of Ankara.