What to expect at the PTAA Travel Tour Expo 2018

Plotting your travel calendar for 2018? Don’t finalize your travel plans just yet.  The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTTA) is once again holding its annual Travel Tour Expo (TTE). Touted as the biggest annual travel and tourism event in the country, it has attracted tourists and jetsetters with its full roster of exhibitors.

The PTTA Travel Tour Expo has established a reputation for the best place to grab the most affordable travel packages. The PTTA is expecting more patrons to attend this year, as they have been making preparations since April last year to ensure that the expo will be worth visiting.

Below is a rundown of what you can expect at the PTTA Travel Tour Expo.

400 exhibitors, 1000 booths

As of the press launch, there were already 995 booths allotted for the expo which will be occupied by nearly 400 exhibitors, including 90 travel agencies (the highest in the history of the expo).

All the travel suppliers and organizations you’ll ever need

PTTA’s travel expo is a one-stop-shop for your travel needs. The exhibitors list is composed of airline companies, travel agencies and tour operators, hotels and resorts, theme parks, cruise liners, insurance companies, tourist organizations, national tourism organizations and embassies, government agencies, food concessionaires, merchandisers. That’s just about every travel-related entity one can think of. If you can think of more, they’ll probably be at the expo.

Domestic travel deals arranged with regional agencies and tourism boards

Travel agencies and tourism boards that hold office in other regions will participate to ensure the legitimacy and value of the domestic tour packages.

The International Travel Trade Expo (iTTE)

The iTTE is the business-to-business component of the travel expo. It gives PTAA members to have pre-appointed one-on-one meetings with executives from international tourism organizations.

80 sellers for iTTE

The list includes sellers from Cambodia, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Israel, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

Unbelievably low-priced travel deals

People line up in the wee hours of the morning – as early as 3:00 am – to get first dibs on the cheapest travel packages. To give you an idea, here are some examples: P3,800 per head for a 3-day, 2-night stay in Boracay including transfer and quad sharing accommodations; P15,000 for a 3-day, 2-night stay in Hong Kong; and only P8,000 for a Taipei vacation.

Limited slots for budget deals

While the prices are unbeatable, the slots for the best travel deals are limited – approximately 15 to 20 per offering. This is why people line up early; to get a hold of these very limited offerings.

Lots of ground to cover

The travel expo can certainly provide opportunities to scour the country and to circle the globe, but before you can do that, you will have to cover a lot of ground by foot first.

On its silver anniversary, the PTTA Travel Tour Expo will occupy all 8 halls as well as the meeting rooms of the SMX Convention Center. That’s over 16,000 square meters of floor space!

Hundreds of thousands of attendees

Based on previous years’ numbers, 140,000 people are expected to attend the travel expo.

Early entry for Citibank credit cardholders

On the first day of the expo, February 9, only Citibank credit cardholders will be allowed to enter the convention halls from 8:30 to 9:30 am. The rest can enter from 9:30 am onwards.

500 Mabuhay Miles for new members

Mabuhay Miles is the frequent flyer program of Philippine Airlines, which is a major sponsor for the TTE. Travelers who will sign up for Mabuhay Miles during the expo will be given 500 bonus miles just for signing up. Five hundred Mabuhay Miles is almost the equivalent of the miles you’ll get for booking a one-way Economy Class flight to Hong Kong (700 Mabuhay Miles).

Cultural and fashion shows

The PTTA prepared cultural presentations as well as fashion shows featuring Filipino tapestry and the creations of designer Rene Salud.

The 25th PTTA Travel Tour Expo is being held from February 9 to 11 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Gates open at 9:30 am and close at 8 pm on the first day (February 9); opens at 9 am and closes at 8 pm on the second (February 10); and opens at 9 am and closes at 6 pm on the last day (February 11). An entrance fee of P70 (P50 for senior citizens) will be collected. – Rappler.com