organizer of the annual Riyadh Travel Fair — has inaugurated the 2016 edition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's biggest travel and tourism exhibition recently. The Riyadh Travel Fair is held in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's capital at Al Faisaliah Tower, and was inaugurated by Omar Bahlaiwa, Secretary General of the Council of Saudi Chambers. The annual event now in its eighth year is being held from April 12-15 with over 250 exhibitors from 55 different countries. Bander' Algryni, general manager ASAS Exhibitions, said: "The 2016 edition is largest Riyadh Travel Fair to date whereby 250 exhibitors from Tourism Boards, Airlines, Tour Operators and Hotels from 55 countries will have an opportunity to outreach Saudia Arabia's tourism industry. "Outbound travel by Saudi nationals is one of the highest in the region with locals as well as expats constantly travelling abroad and looking for new opportunities to explore new destinations." The 2015 edition of Riyadh Travel Fair saw 219 exhibitors with visitor attendance at 17,573. That was an increase of 15% compared to the 2014 edition. Having a strong presence in this year's show are Abu Dhabi Tourism & Cultural Authority, Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority and Oman Tourism. Visitors will also be able to directly contact with the national pavilions of Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Kyoto Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Turkey, Orange County California, Bursa and Korea to name just a few. The Philippines is participating in the Riyadh Travel Fair for the 4th straight year, which is aimed in promoting investment, development and sustainability of the travel and tourism sector in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia. The Philippines' 72 square meter booth located at the right side of the grand hall is one of the biggest booths in the event. To show its full support for the event, a Philippine delegation from the Department of Tourism (DOT) headed by Assistant Secretary Arturo Boncato, Jr., together with Glen Raymund Agustin and Stalingrad F. Samson, arrived in Riyadh. They were also joined by representatives from AVIAREPS, Philippine tourism marketing office based in Dubai, representatives from Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific and from Emirates Airways. The group will personally attend to visitors and answer their queries on the various tourist destinations in the Philippines during the 4-day event. As part of their Philippines tourism promotion, the group met with the different travel agents in Riyadh to re-launch the "Kids Go Free" and "Visit the Philippines Year" campaign programs. Assistant Secretary Boncato also informed the group on the recent launching of the "Halal Tourism" Program of the Department of Tourism, which is aimed at increasing the number of accredited halal certified kitchens of the different hotels and restaurant in the Philippines. In 2015, the Department of Tourism has recorded a total of 50,884 tourist arrivals to the Philippines from Saudi Arabia. This figure shows a 17.02% increase as compared to the 2014 arrivals, which is 43,483. Among the countries in the GCC, Saudi Arabia has the highest number of visitors from the Middle East to the Philippines since 2009 and is consistently increasing each year. The Filipino community in Riyadh is encouraged to visit the Philippine booth.
