The traditional trade fairs GO and REGIONTOUR presented themselves to the visitors in a new form with extended content – as a complete presentation of the options in leisure time activities including exploring regional gastronomy. At the time of the Internet and being flooded with  information organizers bet on the mediation of authentic experiences. Visitors got to know remote places with all their senses and could try different ways of active holidays.

The Central European tourism trade fairs, with an emphasis on regions were attended by 776 exhibitors and organisations from 21 countries  exhibiting on the desktop of 9 500 m². REGIONTOUR was the largest presentation of options how to spend holidays not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad, and in particular in the countries of the Visegrád Four.  More than 90 foreign destinations including exotic ones presented themselves to the visitors at the GO trade fair. During the four days of the trade fairs, both were visited by almost 30 thousand people, tourism professionals and end clients, who came from nine countries from abroad, in particular from Slovakia, Poland and Croatia. 337 journalists, among them 20 foreign journalists from Slovakia and Italy, were accredited in the press centre.

The GO and REGIONTOUR trade fairs were officially inaugurated in pavilion P by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was performed by The Minister for Local Development Kamil Jankovský, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic František Palko, the Governor of the South Moravian Region and the President of the Association of Regions Michal Hašek, Cardinal Dominik Duka, the representative of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop of Prague and the Metropolitan of Czech Lands and Slovakia Christopher and other important guests. Important organisations active in the field of tourism, led by the Ministry for Local Development of the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic, the agency CzechTourism, both associations of travel agencies, the Archbishopric of Prague and the Associationof Chefs and Confectioners of the Czech Republic, closely cooperated on the preparation of the trade fairs.

RegFoodFest, where the visitors could taste the typical dishes and food and beverage products of individual regions, took place for the first time. The visitors were greatly interested in the gastronomic presentation of Hungary, the Moravian wine-growing section, the world of coffee or a restaurant serving regional specialities. Directly adjacent to the expositions of the trade fair GO the three-day-long finals of the traditional and prestigious competition Gastro Junior Brno – Bidvest Cup took place, in which the best young chefs, confectioners and waiters fought for the titles of champions of the Czech Republic.

Great emphasis was placed on the active holiday and visitors got a chance to try some of the sports on the spot for the first time. They were introduced in more detail to the specific options of active holiday in the extended Cycling Village and in the expositions “Golf” and “Holiday on Water” in the neighbouring pavilion F. The return to tradition and its growing importance for tourism was accentuated by folklore performances and a craft fair.

An important event of the specialized supporting programme was the workshop “Religious Tourism” with the topic of the 1150^th anniversary of the Christian mission of Cyril and Methodius. Representatives of church institutions, of regional offices, of regional hedquarters of tourism, of cities, of travel agencies etc. participated in the workshop. Dealings of the Winery Fund and of the Association of Camping Sites of the Czech Republic took place at the exhibition grounds, the supporting programme also dealt with group holidays for schools.

At the trade fair the results of the Tourism Grand Prix 2012/2013 were announced. The prize brings out exceptional and high-quality works in the field of tourism. In the category of The Best Tourist Product won the Czech-Saxon Switzerland and the product "It's coming! Or by bus, steamboat, train and tram into the world of rock towns". As the best single campaign, the jury appreciated the "Non-traditional places for non-traditional meetings" of the Headquarters of tourism – South Moravia and the winner of the category The Best Tourist Portal is mojeorlickehory.cz.  The best spa and wellness package was prepared by the Luhačovice spa, "Spa Vacation for families with children". In the category of menus for Golf Hiking, the jury was most impressed by the package "Family Golf Weekend" from Silesia Golf Resort Kravaře. The best travel agencies of last year, according to a poll answered by the general public, have become Kovotour Plus, Exim Tours and Čedok.

Traditional competitions of young experts in tourism were introduced in a new form. Directly on the stage in pavilion P it was competed for the title of the REGION REGINA, and the competition PROFI GO has expanded to the category of tourist products, which the students of schools of tourism presented to an expert jury at the trade fairs’ workshop. Both of these changes have met with a very favourable response of the experts and of the visitors.

The 16th festival of films, photographs and travel books GO KAMERA 2013, with the central theme of Nepalto which the visitors were introduced through dance, music and exotic cuisine, was an integral part of the trade fairs’ programme. Lectures parallelly ongoing in two halls of the Congress Centre were visited by several thousand travel enthusiasts from the Czech Republic and abroad during the four days of the trade fairs.

What they said about the trade fairs

Václav Božek, Deputy of the Governor of the South Moravian region:
The REGIONTOUR trade fair is the first one not only considering the date, but also from the perspective of its importance for tourism and its promotion in the Czech Republic. It's not just that it is in the South Moravian region, which has the most number of tourists from all the regions, which REGIONTOUR certainly contributes to. The South Moravian region sees tourism as one of the economically important sectors which can  move the economy of the region forward.

Roman Onderka, Mayor of the city of Brno:
REGIONTOUR is always a holiday at the Brno exhibition grounds. It is the first trade fair of the year and a demonstration of what the individual regions, cities and municipalities can offer, and not only to tourists from the Czech Republic, but also from Europe and the entire world. It is even more important for Brno, because the city is not here only as the host, but also as an exhibitor.

Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague:
It is my third time on this trade fair, because tourism is also related to religious monuments and to some extent with the religious life around the world. The Christian Europe was born on pilgrimage trails, where the common language is prayer. On this occasion I would like to thank the self-government - of both the regions and the municipalities - for the understanding, which has been shown during the 23 years of freedom in the reconstruction of the dominant features of our villages, towns and cities

František Palko, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic:
I am very happy to be at this trade fair in a country whose inhabitants are Slovakia’s most numerous visitors. We would be glad if the number continued to grow and Slovakia became a year-round destination for the Czechs. This is also why Slovakia is traditionally the country with the highest foreign participation at this trade fair. I believe that when we meet here again next year, we will be able to say that despite the crisis the tourism industry is growing, for us and for you as well.

Petr Krejčík, trade, marketing and PR, Winery Chateau Lednice:
We are regular participants at the REGIONTOUR trade fair, this year is already our fifth time. This year, we are here on three places including the stand of the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, because we think that it is necessary to represent South Moravia not only visually, but also in taste and scent. The trade fair is useful for us for long-term promotion and strengthening the good name of the company. This year I like the emphasis on exploring places of the regions through taste and olfactory sensations. The gastronomic part is certainly enlivening and should be further extended in the future.

Lucie Laštovková-Zemková, owner of 101 CK  Zemek travel agency:
We think of this year's participation at the trade fair GO as a good way to be in personal contact with our clients. Even though someone says that trade fairs are obsolete, I believe that in this time when we are witnessing the collapse of many travel agencies, it is worth it to be here and to show not only our business partners, but also the clients, that after 22 years on the market, we are a stable travel agency and they do not have to worry about travelling with us.

Bohuslav Nahodil, owner of CK SANTINI Tour travel agency:
We see our participation as a way of making our company visible to the public. We have been participating in the GO trade fair without a break since the first year. I'm old-fashioned, so I’ve decided that I'll be here as long as GO will.

Libor Šugárek, owner of CK VITKOVICE TOURS travel agency:
We have been coming to GO since the first year, we haven’t missed one trade fair. It is a matter of the heart for us. And also it's fair to our clients. We have plenty of customers in Brno and South Moravia and it is our duty to come to the people and bring the catalogues to them.

István Kolozsvári, head of the economic and commercial section of the Embassy of Hungary:
In Brno Hungary bet on gastronomy and wellness. Nine exhibitors arrived, who represent spa towns in Brno, wine and, of course, the good Hungarian sausages must be here, this afternoon we also serve typical Hungarian specialities from mangalitsa. The Czechs like to travel to Hungary for good wine, food and, of course, for wellness. According to statistics, they occupy the fifth place in the number of tourists who visit Hungary annually.

Aneta Ondráčková, representative of the CK HUNGARIAtours travel agency:
At the trade fair, we present the menu of short and relaxation stays throughout Hungary. We're here to meet with existing and new clients and make our company visible.

Miroslav Kubec, President of the Association of Chefs and Confectioners of the Czech Republic and the continental Director of the WACS for Central Europe:
This year's competition Gastro Junior again made a big step in visibility. After we were assigned to the GO and REGIONTOUR trade fairs, we're not closed in a separate pavilion, and the public can nicely see what the contestants perform in all the three categories. I would like to thank everyone who attended the trade fair this year and participated in its organization and preparation for helping with the development of the field of gastronomy in the Czech Republic.

Next year’s GO and REGIONTOUR trade fairs will take place from the 16^th to the 19^th of January 2014.