SINGAPORE, April 6 — The travel fair organised by a breakaway group of agents from the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) drew about 76,000 visitors at the end of the inaugural trade show yesterday.

While the figure was short of the 80,000 visitors the organisers had hoped for, it was higher than the crowd of 55,200 that visited the NATAS fair last month.

The widely-publicised spat between the two factions broke out in November last year, with 24 tour agencies, including big players such as Dynasty Travel, SA Tours, CTC Travel and Chan Brothers, complaining about lack of transparency, among other things. They also announced plans to boycott the NATAS fair and organise their own event.

Ms Alicia Seah, Dynasty Travel’s director of marketing communications and a member of the working committee for the rival fair, said the organisers were more than satisfied with the turnout and hopeful of hitting the sales target of S$100 million. “(The turn-out target) was just an estimate in the first place. We are quite happy that we actually hit 76,000 ... It’s certainly a boost of confidence,” she said. “Looking forward, we will continue to provide free admission, stage the event at the heart of the city and reduce rental fees.”

The organisers will seek feedback from various stakeholders on the preferred dates and venues for the subsequent fairs, she said.

The Travel Revolution Fair, which was held at Marina Bay Sands, started on Friday. It had more than 70 exhibitors, including 30 outbound tour agencies and 20 airlines and national tourism boards.

By 8pm on the first day, 26,500 people had turned up. Visitors had told TODAY they were attracted to the big-name tour agencies at the fair.

The NATAS fair was held from March 6 to 8 at the Singapore Expo. Its turnout was a slight uptick from 54,275 visitors last February. The fair waived its S$4 entrance fee this year and, for the first time, offered free shuttle services from Bedok and Tampines MRT stations to the event. — TODAY