Category Archives: Exhibitions

The first day of GPS Kochi set the tone of the show by opening with a session that laid a strong emphasis on the environment and how all stakeholders in the tourism industry can do their bit by being a little mindful and aware. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), said, “We had an entire session in the morning that focuses on simple do’s and dont’s for water conservation and importance of rain-water harvesting for a responsible citizen. We also spoke about the dangers of plastic use and how it can be easily avoided. I’m a polymer engineer by education and I understand how toxic plastic can be if not used wisely.” He said the need of the hour is for us not just as tourism stakeholders but also as citizens of this world to go back to the age when we used recyclable things. “We also spoke about how operators can educate their clients on what they can take with them from a hotel and what they cannot. Some times it’s just a matter of informing them and being guided. They do it out of ignorance. So we played a video that addresses this issue as well,” Singh said. The Kochi edition saw high attendance from buyers coming from all over Kerala such as Madurai, Coimbatore, Thissur, Trivandrum, Calicut, Kannur, Trichy, Salem, Tirur,  Erode, and Kozhikode. Dates for EcoCONNECT will be announced during the Kolkata show.

In a press meet in Delhi, The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) has announced that the screening committee has shortlisted almost 200 foreign buyers for the second edition of the India Tourism Mart (ITM) scheduled from September 23-25. The federation is eying at hosting close to 300 foreign buyers for the mart. Last year, ITM was attended by 244 buyers from 62 countries. This year, FAITH is expecting buyers from 70 countries. Subhash Goyal, Chairman, ITM 2019 and Hony. Secretary, FAITH said, “We are closely looking at inclusivity and quality of buyers this year. The screening and selection process of ITM is very transparent. Out of 829 applications received till date from foreign buyers, we have already shortlisted 199 of them and are under process to screen more. Very soon, we will have the final numbers. We are looking at hosting close to 300 buyers, which will include foreign buyers from newer markets like China and different states of USA.” The three-day tourism mart will be organised at Ashoka hotel, New Delhi and will be inaugurated by tourism minister, Prahlad Singh Patel, while Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping & Transport will be the chief guest.

The upcoming Tamil Nadu Travel Mart (TTM), scheduled from September 19-22, at Chennai Trade Centre will showcase their products and have business meetings with 1000 plus buyers. The registrations for the same have been opened. The three-day exhibition will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers.

After making its presence felt in the southern market with Hyderabad and western market with Ahmedabad, the bandwagon of Global Panorama Showcase has now moved to North India with the fourth edition of GPS Chandigarh. With a reinvented format, the organisers have concised the plan of the show from three days to two days. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Co-Founder & Managing Director, GPS, said that the same format will be followed in other GPS cities like Kolkata and Kochi, while the format followed in Ahmedabad will continue in Pune, keeping in mind the better understanding of markets in different cities. “With four new EDWIN programs this year, travel agents in Chandigarh have a chance to experience all four different destinations and learn more knowledge about them. Our core motto with EDWIN programs has always been to empower and educate the travel trade so that they can grow their business manifold. GPS will keep working hard to provide best networking opportunities to all the attendees,” Anand said further. Day 1 of the show started with GPS app workshop and announcement of EDWIN for year 2019, in destinations like Tanzania, Zanzibar and Ladakh. EDWIN on Jalesh Cruise is also in line, apart from Europe tour on coach by Red Tours and Europe tour by rail by Amigo Travels, in plans this year. Day 1 comprised product presentations and knowledge sessions by exhibitors throughout the day, followed by the welcome dinner in the evening. Day 2 of the show is totally dedicated to B2B meetings throughout the day, followed by gala dinner. GPS is hosting over 150 buyers from different places around Chandigarh for the show.  

The sixth edition of the Travel Wedding Show that took place over two days in Mumbai at the Westin Mumbai Garden City on July 13-14,  2019, recorded a whopping 1922 meetings in total.  Day one saw 31 exhibitors interact with 31 wedding planners over pre-scheduled table-top meetings, showcasing their offerings that would interest the growing wedding market. The second day followed a similar pattern but with tour operators, who also do weddings. The show managed to bring out some interesting trends emerging in the wedding segment. The first day’s session ended with a power-packed panel discussion where industry experts deliberated on why Indian weddings are going international. This was moderated by Rajeev Jain, Director, Rashi Entertainment and the speakers included Sanjay Rai, EVP- Sales, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts; Emree Kirazci, Director of Sales & Marketing, Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa; Udaya Bhattarai, Senior Assistant Manager, Nepal Tourism Board; and Tekla Maira, Director, Luxury Sales, Accor Hotel Luxe, AccorHotels.

The Global Panorama Showcase has kick-started in Ahmedabad. Revealing the schedule of its 2019 season, EDWIN will be held in four destinations, Leh, Zanzibar, Oman and Europe during the month of September and October 2019. Making the announcement during the inauguration of GPS in Ahmedabad, Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS informed that they chose the city of Ahmedabad for a very special reason. “We started GPS ‘On the go’ from here and have got tremendous response from travel trade here. EDWIN is really popular in Gujarat as we got maximum number of participants for the programme from the western state. We also have highest number of 10X members from here, which makes GPS Ahmedabad the perfect city to make this announcement,” he said. “We have received constant support from a number of travel trade associations of Gujarat in organising GPS in Ahmedabad and making it a success. Going forward , Ahmedabad will also become the first GPS city with auto-check in facility in coming future. No check-in booths will be required at the show and all the check-in will be done by kiosks. I am proud to say that GPS is the only paperless digital travel event in the world, he further said. The two day B2B show started in Ahmedabad on Wednesday with half day of knowledge sessions, termed as KIT (Knowledge, Inspiration, Training) Talk and half day of B2B meetings. The day 2 will have full day B2B meetings between, exhibitors and buyers from different regions of Gujarat.

Skål Congress 2019 kick-started in Bengaluru. The event is being held from 27-30 June at Taj MG Road, Bengaluru. The event was inaugurated by Sa Ra Mahesh, Honourable Minister for Sericulture and Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka in presence of Lavonne Wittmann, President, Skål International TK Anil Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Karnataka Tourism and Manoj Mathew, President, SKAL Bengaluru. Speaking on occasion of the inauguration, Manoj Mathew, President, Skål Bangalore said, “Bengaluru among other eloquent sobriquets is one of fastest growing cities in the world, with footprints getting stronger each day with the emergence of high – end technology and a global hub for the start-up bandwagon.   The three-day action-packed event shall see over 250 delegates from across ten countries all aligned to promote friendship and fellowship through the world of tourism. ‘Doing Business among friends’ will help you evolve and nurture relationships to facilitate business among our members. The Congress shall have several opportunities for discerning members to explore opportunities among ourselves.”   He further added “The event will add tremendous value to Karnataka and India Tourism’s marketing effort, where in industry leaders from all over Asia will get rich exposure to the India’s diverse culture and heritage”.    

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu is organising the 2nd edition of CII Tamil Nadu Travel Mart to showcase the potential of Tamil Nadu’s tourism on a global platform from 19-22 September in Chennai. The registrations for the same have been opened. The three-day exhibition will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers.

Global Panorama Showcase kick-started its 2019 season from Hyderabad with a new format and approach. The two-day show will now start with half-day educative sessions and seminars followed by B2B meetings on both days. The show is looking to impart more knowledge and new products from this year along with more exposure and focus on quality business.  “With 170 hosted buyers, flown in to Hyderabad by our airline partner, IndiGo, we have buyers from more than 40 cities such as Vishakhapatnam, Amravati, Vijaywada, Triupati among others. A large number of buyers from Hyderabad have also turned up,” informed Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS. An MoU was also signed with Meeting Means Business, to showcase the value of face-to-face meetings and conventions, managed by Nitin Sachdeva and Barun Gupta in India. GPS is also looking to strengthen and promote the MiCE movement and the growth of meetings, incentives and conventions in India.  

Speaking on the launch of Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign by NTB, Suraj Vaidya, National Coordinator, Visit Nepal 2020, says, “We will be conducting the first Nepal Tourism Investment Summit in January 2020. We are doing it as a strategy to bring Nepal back in the forefront. Also, about the Visit Nepal Year 2020- the last one was held in 2011, and since then, probably the world knows Nepal through a very negative picture. It is just not the numbers that we are looking at from India, but also the products. We want to show much more of Nepal, primarily, beyond its conventions- Mt. Everest and Lumbini.”