Category Archives: Exhibitions

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.

Inaugurating the World Tourism Day celebrations in New Delhi, Vice President, M Venkaiah Naidu, urged all stake holders of the tourism industry to be mindful of their ecological foot print and called for more responsible and sustainable tourism practices. Observing that tourism is a major engine of economic growth and an important source of employment and foreign exchange earnings in many countries, Shri Naidu said that tourism in India has tremendous potential, considering the country’s rich cultural and historical heritage, varied ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the country.

Travel Trade Association of Uttar Pradesh (TTAUP) is holding its TTAUP Travel Mart, TTM 2019 today at the Hotel Hyatt Regency, Lucknow. Vivek Pandey, President, TTAUP said that, “At TTM 2019, we have 35 exhibitors and already 400+ online registrations for the buyers. The buyers from the travel trade are coming in exclusively from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Among the exhibitors we have a wide range of travel suppliers, DMC’s, cruise operators, visa facilitators, online portals and hotels.” Expected dignitaries include, Satish Mahana, Minister, Industrial Development, govt of UP and  Jitendra Kumar, I.A.S, Additional Chief Secretary & Director General, Tourism, govt of UP. The full day event will be followed by networking dinner and regional cultural performance.

The ongoing Experience France roadshow organised by Atout France India in Mahabalipuram is proof that its strategy to tap the small cities more aggressively is paying off. The third edition of this event taking place over four days at Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa saw the largest delegate participation from France with 36 partners who will meet 85 agents from different parts of India. Sheetal Munshaw, Director, Atout France in India, says, “We have been doing multi-city roadshow formats for some time which worked at the time and suites our purpose. But we passed a point where we could no longer work with two or three cities and we needed a pan-India approach and this was the best way to do it. So for Experience France, we bring agents from different parts of India to meet our delegates. We have agents from Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and even Lucknow.” She added that 2018 saw around 7,00,000 visitors coming to France on short-term or tourist visas. This indicates a double digit growth in numbers in the last three years. She also adds that the aim for 2020 is to reach one million visitors but the collapse of Jet and Cox and Kings Plc, might affect these numbers. The event saw a huge delegation from private players from the Alps region alone because of the huge traction it sees from the Indian market.

The second edition of the India Tourism Mart (ITM) opened to a full house, where over 240 foreign buyers and more than 140 exhibitors are participating. The maximum number of buyers are from United States, followed by China. The State of Gujarat is the partner state at ITM 2019. Sharing his view during the inauguration, Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Tourism and Culture, said that ITM is the best example of working together to promote tourism in the country with public private partnership. “I welcome all the foreign delegates, who have come to the second edition of ITM. I want to express my gratitude to FAITH and everyone in the industry to organise such a mart. The ministry is working hand in hand to move forward and grow tourism in the country. We are trying to take forward the recommendations and suggestions of the industry to the government and I am happy to say that five major steps have been taken for the industry. I would like to thank the Prime Minister and the government for their support and proving relief in various aspects. It’s like a Diwali gift for the industry. I would say that, money is important but perception is more important to promote India globally. We are growing in the different rankings and parameters around the world, which is evident of the fact that we are growing in the field of tourism. We are working now on how we can reach on top. Let us show the world what they have not seen and want to see in India,” he said. Welcoming the delegates at the inauguration, Subhash Goyal, Honorary Secretary, FAITH …

PATA Travel Mart 2019 (PTM 2019), hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Tourism National Company, has attracted 347 sellers from 180 organisations and 34 destinations, along with 252 buyers from 244 organisations and 48 source markets with first time buyers comprising 44% of the total. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, says, “This is the first time that PATA is organising an event in Central Asia, and our aim is to highlight the unexplored region of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan. Unexplored by many, PATA Travel Mart provides the perfect opportunity to showcase this unique destination vast landscapes and beautiful culture and heritage.”

In a grand opening ceremony, the second edition of the Tamil Nadu Travel Mart and Medical Value Travel Mart 2019 was inaugurated at the Chennai Trade Centre in Chennai. The three-day exhibition, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society will showcase the potential of Tamil Nadu’s tourism on a global platform. The inauguration was followed by an array of cultural programs and networking dinners organised for all the delegates. TTM 2019 will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers from 54 countries. Apart from TTM, the Medical Value Travel Mart this year will reiterate the importance of Tamil Nadu in the medical value travel sector. Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Union Tourism Ministry, said the government had recognised the potential of tourism and approved 77 projects under Swadesh Darshan and 24 under Prasad in Tamil Nadu.