Category Archives: Exhibitions

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently inaugurated India Travel Mart (ITM) Lucknow in the presence of Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Tourism Minister, Uttar Pradesh and other senior dignitaries, delegates, exhibitors, hoteliers, travel agents, tour organisers and media from various parts of the country. Many tourism departments like Host State – Uttar Pradesh Tourism, Partner State – Gujarat Tourism & Rajasthan Tourism, Himachal Tourism, Jharkhand Tourism, Uttarkhand Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, West Bengal Tourism, Delhi Tourism, Spiceland Holidays, Globewel Holidays Dubai, Club Mahindra, Country Inn Group of Hotels & Resorts,  Travel Mail, Hoteliers, travel agents and tour organisers participated at the event.   

The 26th IT&CM Asia and 21st CTW Asia-Pacific kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand and welcomed some 3,000 delegates, including over 500 hosted buyers and media, from more than 50 territories and countries. Over 50 industry thought-leaders from government bodies, related associations, corporate organisations and industry professions delivered knowledge sessions. The main keynote presented by Martin Nydegger, CEO, Switzerland Tourism; Oscar Cerezales, COO, MCI Asia-Pacific; Nichapa Yoswee, Senior Vice President – Business, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB); and Daniel Chua, Vice President – Meetings & Incentives, Singapore Associations of Conventions and Exhibition Organisers (SACEOS), set the tone towards the transformation of audience engagement as the demand to stand out and being top-of-mind becomes more competitive. TCEB hosted the Official Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception themed ‘Thailand Limited’ that rounded off Day 1 of activities at the GMM Live House at CentralWorld, featuring a colourful night of uniquely Thai entertainment, local cuisine and hospitality.  

The four-day Tourism EXPO Japan (TEJ) 2018 is underway at Tokyo Big Sight on the theme ‘New Forms of Tourism and Travel’. The India pavilion at the exhibition was inaugurated by Padmini Brahma, Assistant Director—East Asia Region, Indiatourism; Satya Pal Kumar, First Secretary (Trade), Embassy of India, Tokyo; Raj Kumar Srivastava, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Tokyo; Apurva Varma, Additional Chief Secretary to Government—Tourism, Culture & Religious Endowments Department, Tamil Nadu; and V Palanikumar, Commissioner of Tourism and Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation. The TEJ Ministerial Roundtable has attracted the participation of tourism ministers from 14 countries and representatives of tourism-related international organisations, the Japan Tourism Agency and the governor of Tokyo. In the exhibition business meetings, business talks with some 1,300 buyers and sellers will be held at exhibition booths with 200,000 visitors expected. Anita Mendiratta, Moderator at the TEJ Ministerial Roundtable, said, “Through tourism and travel, people worldwide are opening their minds and hearts to understand, respect and celebrate differences across countries, cultures and communities.”

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) highlighted the state’s historical monuments and cultural heritage through its participation at India Tourism Mart (ITM) recently held at The Ashok New Delhi. The focus was to showcase and revive the fast-growing tourism sector of Madhya Pradesh. The stall of MPTB was visited by industry influencers, travel enthusiasts, corporate, business heads, travel operators and media professionals from different corners of the city to exchange views and opinions on Madhya Pradesh Tourism. MPTB is going to organise two major events in Bhopal this year – Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart from October 5-7 and Adventure NEXT from December 3-5. The former is organised by ATTA in collaboration with MPTB in association with ATOAI. ATTA has chosen Madhya Pradesh because of its adventure-friendly destinations and efforts of MPTB to promote adventure tourism in the state. As quoted by the officials of MPTB, “Madhya Pradesh is flourished with historic marvels, home of wildlife animals and warm people. It is also called the tiger state of India. We expect major inbound tourist footfall mainly from UK. If you look at the statistics, a lot of international destinations like Switzerland, Singapore are now filled with Indian tourists. So if Indians are willing to go abroad and see destinations of the world, why not explore our own country. So we are having a balanced approach in all the sectors of tourism such as adventure, wildlife, heritage and many more.”

With around 250 foreign buyers and 150 exhibitors, the first-ever India Tourism Mart (ITM) 2018 was inaugurated by chief guest Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways, Coal and Corporate Affairs, Government of India, along with Mohammed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy of the Kingdom of Morocco, KJ Alphons, Minister of State for Tourism (I/C), Government of India; Navjot Singh Sidhu, Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Affairs and Museums, Government of Punjab; Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Government of Kerala and other officials.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) participated at the recent PATA Travel Mart 2018 in Langkawi, Malaysia to promote the tourism prospects of Maharashtra on a global platform. Dinesh Kamble, Senior Manager, Marketing and Publicity represented MTDC at PATA Travel Mart 2018. MTDC pavilion at PATA Travel Mart 2018 was visited by Mridal Kumar, High Commissioner of India to Malaysia and Sudeshna Ramkumar, Director – India Tourism Singapore, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India along with Chris Botrill, Chairman, PATA and Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) showcased several prospects of tourism such as beach tourism, Buddhist tourism, adventure tourism, wildlife tourism and Bollywood tourism at the 41st Edition of PATA Travel Mart 2018. PATA Travel Mart 2018 offered a golden chance to aggressively market the tourism catalogues, vivacious culture, exclusive destinations and investment prospects in the state. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra said, “Maharashtra is leading in terms of foreign tourist arrivals (FTA). With the 41st edition of PATA Travel Mart 2018, we were able to promote the diversity of our state which offers 360 degrees dimension and the potential to cater to the needs of global travellers.” Vijay Kumar Gautam (IAS), Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Maharashtra added, “The main objective of participation at 41st Edition of PATA Travel Mart 2018 is to encourage Maharashtra as a world-class tourist destination and help the and tour operators to network with international buyers, trade buyers, exhibitors, strategy makers and investors.”

Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) is set to take place as per schedule despite the recent floods in Kerala leading to huge devastation and loss. Abraham George, President, KTM Society confirmed that KTM will take place as per schedule with the inauguration on September 27 and business meetings from September 28-30, 2018 in Kochi. “The Kerala tourism industry is back for business and we will be showcasing our products and hold business meetings at KTM. Most of the destinations are not much affected by the floods; it’s only a few roads that have damaged. The government is working to fix that. Also, whatever work needs to be done at the resorts and the tourist destinations will be completed in about 10 days and we will be ready to welcome tourists,” he said.

Uttarakhand Travel Mart (UTM), a B2B buyer-seller meet and travel and tourism exhibition, is set to be held in Dehradun from October 24-26, 2018. The event will be a strong platform for exhibitors to network with buyers and invited delegates. Satpal Maharaj, Minister of Tourism, Uttarakhand, released the Uttarakhand Travel Mart (UTM) brochure in New Delhi to boost tourism and promote the mart.  

The India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) has launched its West Bengal Chapter at the 11th edition of its Convention India Conclave (CIC) in Kolkata. Amaresh Tiwari, Honorary Secretary, ICPB, said, “We are focusing on developing MiCE across India. ICPB is growing its wings and first time in the history of ICPB we are opening the first chapter—West Bengal Chapter in Kolkata, where the government official will be the chapter head. And similarly, we will be going from state to state to build the chapter and this is going to be done with central and state partnership basis.”  

MiCE continues to be important for revenue generation at various platforms, said Chander Mansharamani, Vice Chairman, India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) at the 11th Conventions India Conclave (CIC) underway in Kolkata. Welcoming delegates at the inaugural session, he further said, “We, at ICPB, play a major role not only in creating better awareness of the benefits of the congress and the conventions but also support congress planners, organisations, associations and other trade related bodies. According to World Travel Market, there will be 10 million international travellers by 2020 and estimated business travel will account for appoximately 14 per cent. Keeping in view the economic impact, we need to figure out what we need to do next and how ICPB can play a proactive role in this.” Some 300 participants are expected to attend the Conclave including 150 domestic and 40 international potential buyers. The focus of the event will be on India’s potential as a MiCE destination, through interactive sessions, exhibitions and B2B meetings.