Category Archives: Exhibitions

World Travel Market kick-started in London and will be held from November 4-6. India is participating too at the WTM London 2019, one of the largest international exhibitors of the travel and tourism industry to showcase India as a preferred destination for tourism. This year, India pavilion will focus on targeting internal experiences of travellers by showcasing not only India’s culture and heritage but also niche tourism products such as cuisine, wellness, yoga, wildlife and luxury. This year, over 30 co-exhibitors/partners comprising state governments, tour operators, hoteliers, wellness centres and other stakeholders will be present at India pavilion.

India ranked seven in Asia-Pacific region, in terms of hosting highest number of meetings in 2018, revealed International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). India hosted a total of 158 meetings last year. Japan topped the list in the region with 492 meetings, followed by China with 449 meetings. Third in the list was Republic of Korea with 273 meetings Australia at number four with 265 meetings. Thailand (193 meetings) was ranked fifth while Chinese Taipei ranked sixth (173 meetings).

Harmandeeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, in a recent interview has mentioned that GPS will be launching EDWIN@Amazing Thailand in association with ATTA (Association of THAI travel Agents), TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) , THA (Thailand Hotel Association). He also said that, Trawelltag – Covermore will be the insurance partner. The itinerary will cover the less explored region of Kanchanaburi and Khao Yai in addition to Bangkok and Pattaya over a duration of 4nts/5days from 25-29 Nov 2019. Regional stake holders will showcase their products to all the attendees. Registrations will open exclusively from 31Oct for GPS 10X members with limited spaces.

Travel MiCE Show, this year, has been scheduled for December 14 & 15 at the Trident Chennai. The show is a platform to meet over 65 buyers from across the country. The show will entail pan-India corporate meetings on day 1 and interactions and meetings with MiCE specialists on Day 2.  The show will also conduct over 1800 meetings over two days.

VISIT JAPAN Travel & MICE Mart (VJTM) 2019 kick-started in Osaka and will be held till 26 October. The business meetings in VJTM 2019 use a unique appointment-matching system to arrange business meetings in line with needs of both buyers and sellers. This year, the mart concurrently is held with “Tourism ExpoJapan,” as part of one of the world’s largest international tourism event, with an aim to promote the entire tourism industry and activate local economies. Furthermore, with the VJTM being held in Osaka for the first time, Kansai Tour Program (voluntary participation) for buyers and the media to introduce Osaka and the other Kansai areas and help expand buyer knowledge of the region, in addition to the conventional familiarization trip has been arranged.

As per the latest versions of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) statistics, India ranks 28 in number of meetings and conferences held in a country in 2018. India has considerably improved its ranking, which was 31 in 2016 and 27 in 2017. It stands at seventh position in Asia-Pacific region. India is at par with Argentina, Mexico, Thailand, Singapore Smaller countries in Europe, South East Asia, and a few Central European countries in leading the 150+ (upto 200) meeting categories in a year.

PATA India Chapter will organise the second edition of its Tourism Powerhouse on December 6, which will see a variety of speakers from the travel industry in India and abroad, revealed Runeep Sangha, Executive Director, PATA India Chapter. He adds, “The theme of the event is ‘The Big Leap Forward’ and the speakers at the Tourism Powerhouse will be sharing their experiences and suggestions to accelerate growth.”

ITB Asia opened its doors at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Over the next three days from 16 – 18 October 2019, the show will see organisations from across the travel industry gathering to establish contacts and conduct business. ITB Asia continues to break records with exhibitor numbers at all time high. Record number of over 1,300 exhibitors and more than 1,250 buyers are present at this year’s show. The opening ceremony was graced by four guests-of-honour: Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Education, Republic of Singapore, who was attending for the second year running; Michael Müller, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, who is attending ITB Asia for the first time; Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Messe Berlin GmbH and Keith Tan, Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board.

HPMF’s 9th anniversary that is marked by its convention and awards kick-started on 10 October in Kochi. The event will witness over 250+ delegate participation from countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE. Strategic B2B meetings will take place where vendors from the industry will showcase their latest products and services. Panel discussions where industry stalwarts will participate will also be witnessed during this three-day event.

Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu presented the National Tourism Awards 2017-18 on World Tourism Day in New Delhi. A total of 76 Awards under various categories were presented. The Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (IC) Prahlad Singh Patel;Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili; Tourism Minister of Paraguay, Sofia Montiel De Afara; Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi; DG Tourism, Meenakshi Sharma, senior officers of Ministry of tourism and 82 international delegates were  among those present on the occasion.