Iran Press/Africa: After the SIAO (crafts fair), the SITHO was held from November 28 to December 2, 2024 in the capital Ouagadougou, without incident.
SITHO, or the Salon International du Tourisme et de l'Hôtellerie de Ouagadougou, is a tourism and hospitality trade fair in Burkina Faso. Established in 2004, it aims to promote the country's tourism industry and hospitality sector.
Now, the site of the SIAO hosts the event. The international tourism and hotels industry tradeshow of Ouagadougou brought together industry professionals and hundreds of visitors around the theme: “tourism, a factor in the enhancement of cultural identities and diversity”.
Stands were set up in the fair ground by the various administrative regions, and some tourist sites and wild animals were represented by local artists.
On Sunday, the last day of the show, some exhibitors expressed their satisfaction with the possibility to forge business partnerships, while others complained about the low attendance. Unlike SIAO and other major events, SITHO attracted few visitors, except professionals such as travel and tourism agencies.
Mali and Niger were the guest countries for the event. Together with Burkina Faso, these 2 countries form a confederation known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
They intend to create a common space for tourism, benefiting some 50 million inhabitants. In addition to Mali and Niger, participants took part in SITHO, from South Africa and Argentina.
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