Category Archives: Exhibitions

World Travel Market London 2016 is all set to open today at ExCeL-London. India Tourism is the Premier Partner for WTM London 2016, as it looks to promote the diverse tourism product the country offers. The Indian contingent is being led by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister for Culture and Tourism (I/C), Government of India; and Vinod Zutshi, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India. Most of the Indian states are participating and some state chief ministers and deputy CMs are also attending WTM. An Indian Exhibition Centre at the Reed Exhibition Centre is going to be dedicated to India and Indian-based programmes for the three days of WTM.

World Travel Market London 2016 has launched its new mobile app; WTM London. The app is now available in the Apple App Store and the Android Market. The app makes it easier for exhibitors, visitors and media to manage their time effectively and make the most of their attendance at the leading global event for the travel industry. Plan your visit, connect with other attendees, participate in conversations and seminars, and be inspired to discover something new all within the app. The features will include: ‘Discover’ that will help discover the very best of WTM London and keep the user informed of latest activities and what to do next. ‘WTM Live’ feature will allow user to see what other attendees are doing and saying, and be sure to join the conversation. ‘Around Me’ will enable user to view the profile of people around them and take advantage of relevant networking opportunities. ‘Attendee Match’ connects exhibitors and visitors whose profile and preferences are similar. ‘Interactive 3D floorplan’ is an interactive 3D map to facilitate finding the quickest route to and from stands as well as event features, such as the WTM International Press Centre, conference theatres such as the WTM Inspire Theatre and the WTM Global Stage. ‘Slido’ connects speakers and audience during the seminars, with audience polls and the ability to ask the panellists questions. World Travel Market London, Senior Director Simon Press, said: “We are delighted to introduce the WTM London App. The app adds another level to the ability to networking, meet new contacts and sign business deals. It also further enhances the audience engagement for our industry leading events programme.” WTM London is the event where the …

India’s first Aero Expo organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with Litmus Communications, will be held in New Delhi this November. The expo aims to deliberate on remote and regional connectivity, development of technology and infrastructure, along with the new opportunities embodied in the industry in terms of enhancing connectivity, technology integration and performance optimisation. The two-day event will take place near New ATC Tower, IGI Airport, New Delhi, in the presence of Ashok Gajpathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister and officials from the aviation industry across the globe. The Aero Expo 2016 will also showcase aircraft, aircraft machinery and equipment, aircraft interiors, airlines, airline services and air cargo and airport infrastructure developers. Commenting on the event K. N. Rao, Chairman, Civil Aviation Committee, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, “In a major boost to regional air connectivity, the recently announced plans and policies in India are noteworthy. India is already the fastest growing aviation market in the world and the move to improve regional air connectivity is expected to further boost the industry by providing a new set of growth opportunities to both domestic and international airlines alike along with a new lease to the allied aviation services and skilling industries.” “I would like to encourage professionals from the different industries to participate including national and international companies, professional associations and universities to have a memorable and rewarding event, and I am confident that we will all benefit from our mutual interaction at the event,” said Dr Mahesh Gupta, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Singapore will continue to be home to the next three editions of ITB Asia. Messe Berlin, the organisers of the event, have announced the extension of its partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) from 2017 – 2019, as it looks to continue supporting ITB Asia’s impact in the region. This also marks Singapore as the official partner country for 2017. The next three editions of ITB Asia will take place from October 25–27, 2017, October 17–19, 2018, and October 16–18, 2019. Dr. Martin Buck, Senior Vice President, Messe Berlin GmbH, said, “Next year, ITB Asia will be momentous as we celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary. Visitors, delegates and partners can expect a dedicated ‘Corporate Travel Day’ and ‘Hotel Day’, lined up with an exciting full day of conference programmes catered to these fast-growing sectors.” Melissa Ow, Deputy Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, added, “ITB Asia has grown well since its inaugural show in 2008, delivering strong content and memorable experiences for delegates over the past nine years. We look forward to working with Messe Berlin to further entrench it as the leading travel tradeshow in the Asia-Pacific region.” The ninth edition of ITB Asia brought together 846 exhibitors from 110 countries, and 895 buyers. The show also attracted more than 10,876 attendees.

Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation has successfully concluded the 3rd edition of Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart, from Oct 14-16, at Hotel Lake View in Bhopal. About 70 international buyers from 28 countries, 135 domestic buyers and 45 sellers were part of the 3-day exhibition. The event was inaugurated by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan along with State Tourism Minister Surinder Patwa, MPTDC Chairman Tapan Bhoumik, IATO President Pronab Sarkar, ADTOI President P.P. Khanna, and ITTA President Krishan Dutt Yadav. Hari Ranjan Rao, MD, MPTDC, said, “This is the 3rd MPTM and the success of this mart can be best evaluated by buyers and sellers, more so for the sellers. All the sellers have been very happy with the planning of this event. Sellers’ feedback is that choice of buyers is very good. They feel that buyers are serious, and they have done their homework and research. Most of the buyers are first-timers, which is a good thing. We have also increased the number of sellers. Of course, we are not satisfied yet because the scale has to be much larger, but it’s the right beginning. “

The JATA Tourism EXPO Japan officially opened with 140 countries and 47 regions in Japan represented. Delegates including Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Akihiro Ohta, and the Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, Norifumi Idee were welcomed at the inaugural event. Ohta officially welcomed everyone, explaining that Japan wants to become an advanced tourism country, to push not only international inbound travel, but to also focus on more domestic travel as well. UNWTO Secretary-General Dr. Taleb Rifai, and Mr. David Scowsill, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) also graced the occasion with their presence.

The fifth edition of the Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) has added a new city – Pune – which helps it cover the Vidarbha as well as the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. Madhu Saliankar, Director, EntReps Solutions, that promotes GPS, says, “We are adding a new city this time – Pune – which will be the sixth city to GPS. So in Maharashtra, we will be touching the Vidarbha region which also has a lot of potential as well as the Marathwada region. So two different regions in Maharashtra will be addressed in this edition of GPS. We will also be announcing the prices for the six cities. People can start booking their space. The participation price for one city is Rs 1 lakh, which includes accommodation for one person for two nights, participation fee, setting up of the booth, and networking dinners. We also have extra delegate charges. We are not doing the airfare this time as there are a lot of last-minute changes. For participation in all six cities, the fee is Rs 5,30,000 plus taxes.” The B2B travel event will start with Nagpur from January 19-21, 2017, and then go on to other cities starting from July and through August 2017.

Harmandeep Singh Anand, Co-founder, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), has announced dates for the fifth edition of the B2B travel event. It will start with Nagpur from January 19-21, 2017, and then go on to other cities starting from July and through August 2017. He said, “The fourth edition of GPS Nagpur was extremely successful and registered an increase in visitor footfalls from Central India. The event was followed by four new shows into the portfolio namely: GPS Ahmedabad, GPS Chandigarh, GPS Kolkata and GPS Coimbatore. GPS 2016 saw a combined unique travel trade visitor registration of over 3,000 people, firmly cementing GPS as a premier B2B travel event to reckon with for the Tier II and Tier III cities of India. GPS 2017 will take place in six cities namely: Nagpur (January 19-21), Ahmedabad (July 13-15), Chandigarh (July 20-22), Kolkata (July 27-29), Kochi (August 3-5) and Pune (August 10-12). One day will be dedicated to learnings and workshops, alongside the business meetings that will take place over the three days. Raju Akolkar, CEO, GPS, adds, “For the Nagpur edition, we will launch Voluntourism packages as we have identified a few NGOs in the region. This will also help travel agents put forth an interesting tour product for the region, that will include wildlife and community service together with local sightseeing. We will also get a local travel industry expert to speak and highlight the tourism products that available in the region and how to make it available to the industry and also to throw light about the regions traveller behavior in the context of domestic as well as outbound tourism.” Madhu Saliankar, Sales & Marketing Director, Entreps, adds, “Tourism is a …

The recently-concluded India Travel Mission (ITM) 2016 organised by Tourism Australia every year saw a record number of new suppliers from Australia. This year, which was the 14th edition of ITM, there were at least 17 suppliers that had never participated in any sales mission to India before. This included several participants like Scoot, Visit Canberra, Tourism Barossa, Australian Wine Tour Company, Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sand Dune Adventures, Fire Truck Tours, and Wildlife  Coast Cruises, among others. Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “Over the last few years, ITM has proven to be a great learning tool for us to grow and strengthen our travel trade outreach in the country. The new Australian products participating at the ITM this year signifies the growing importance of India as a key market for Australia. Tourism Australia is focusing on the Indian market with increased marketing initiatives to reach out to our target audience. The increasing tourist arrivals from India validates that we are heading in the right direction to achieve our India 2020 Strategic goals.” The destination welcomed over 241,700 Indians as of year ended June 2016. Tourism Australia also used this platform to promote the destination through its virtual reality assets, thus showcasing its latest global campaign on Aquatic and Coastal to the Indian trade attending ITM 2016.

The ninth edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) is set to be the biggest and farthest-reaching yet. The biennial event will witness 57 countries besides 20 Indian states during the three-day Mart, which is being organised by the KTM Society in association with the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala on September 27, World Tourism Day, in Kochi. Ten countries will be represented at the Mart for the first time, with Mexico, Georgia, Japan, China, Chile, Greece, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Botswana – markets as diverse as they are distant – all confirmed to participate. The 560 total international delegates registered for KTM 2016 features the biggest-ever contingents from 10 highly-prized traditional markets, including the US, Canada and Australia. Domestic participation too has seen an uptick, buoyed by aggressive marketing campaigns. Some 1,304 Indian buyers will participate this year. “The KTM has always emphasised the consistent identification of quality buyers in ever newer territories as much as retaining participation from conventional markets. With representation from 10 new nations this year, our efforts have borne fruit,” said Abraham George, President, KTM Society. “For KTM 2016, we have extended the prefixed appointment system to registered domestic buyers, which will help the business session be more effective for both the sellers and buyers. The focus is on emphasising quality of interactions,” he added.