2bearbearSo now that you’ve read what to expect from the upcoming NATAS fair in February next year, here’s what you should do to prepare for it!
The NATAS travel fair is an event that draws massive crowds of Singaporeans looking to travel out of Singapore – whether for a short weekend getaway, a week-long family vacation, to an extended hiatus from work. During the fair, which is usually held over the weekend, expect to see many travel agencies, national tourism boards, airlines, hotels, and other travel-related services all situated at one venue, offering you attractive deals to popular and exotic destinations all over the world. Not forgetting the huge crowds and long queues that you will be a part of as well. Hence, it might not be a wise idea to enter the venue without doing any prior research.
If you want to check out the deals and travel promotions available prior to the main event or have a taste of the associated crowds, pre-NATAS fairs which have become a standard practice for individual travel agencies to test the market, are usually held in the weeks before the actual NATAS fair. These are competitive and many travel agencies often try to offer their best promotions with previews of their tour packages in order to get a slice of the pie, much to the advantage of us the consumers. If you have the time, do attend these pre-NATAS fairs, which are usually free admission as well.
For those who have in mind their detailed travel plans such as destination and departure dates, good for you. Most tour agencies have special discounts for those who make early bookings to travel on selected departure dates. These include allowing a second passenger to travel for half the price, or sometimes even for free. However, once a certain tour package hits its targeted passenger count to confirm the tour, the price changes. Therefore, do check with the travel consultants about any special discounts offered or if any new departure dates have been opened to meet travel demand.
Before you go hunting down for the best travel deals these travel agents and tour operators can offer, it might be useful to take note of the following tips:
Tip 1: Do your homework early. Start researching on popular travel products, trends and destinations that you might be interested in. Read up on the different tour packages offered by the tour agencies and have in mind who you want to make your travel bookings with. This can be done so conveniently online at our NATAS Travel Fair 2012 page, where we have consolidated all the travel deals available at NATAS.
Tip 2: Bring along your credit card. Tour agencies are likely to have tied up with banks to offer even greater promotions and goodies when you use your credit card to pay for your NATAS travel deals. Examples include freebies with purchases above a certain amount, such as luggage bag, suitcase, and chances at the instant lucky draw.
Tip 3: Plan to arrive at the NATAS travel fair early and you will get to avoid long queues as people start to stream in after lunch. Parking will also be made even more difficult the later you arrive. Hence, it is highly advisable to take public transport. After all, the Singapore EXPO is served by its own MRT Station, making it easily accessible.
Tip 4: Once you enter, head directly to your preferred tour agency’s booth and book your dream tour! More research resources will be updated on our website nearing the date of the actual fair, so stay tuned! (For example: NATAS Travel Fair 2012 consolidated deals, Floor plan, Credit card deals etc.)
NATAS Travel Fair 2012 Details:
Date:
24 February – 26 February 2012 (Friday – Sunday)
Time:
10am – 9.30pm daily
Venue:
Singapore Expo, Halls 3B, 4 and 5
How to Get There:
Take the East-West MRT Line and alight at Expo MRT Station (CG1). The station is behind Hall 6.
Admission Charges:
Adult – $4.00 (Tickets are valid for day of purchase only)
Children below 12 – Free Admission
