Category Archives: Exhibitions

The Indian wedding industry is flourishing at a growth rate of 25 per cent per annum and is pegged at an estimated Rs 250,000 crore ($40 billion), said Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, Rashi Entertainment, keynote speaker at the Travel Wedding Show. In his speech, Jain said that with Indians spending 80% of their wealth on weddings, the sector has proved to be a great contributor to GDP. About 8% of Indians opt for destination weddings from which connectivity and accessibility is the chief factor while choosing locations. The inauguration of Travel Wedding Show also witnessed speaker sessions with Shaji Thomas, Director – Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah, Guldeep Singh Sahni, President – OTOAI, and Rajneesh Rathi, Editor-in-Chief, Wedding Affair as the speakers.

The first Asia Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC) is all set to be held at the Hilton Colombo in Sri Lanka from Nov 27-29, 2016, in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism Club (SLTC). AHTIC will attract an international audience of senior figures and decision-makers involved in all aspects of hotel and tourism investment in South Asia. The conference will focus on hotel development and infrastructure plans in these key markets. Join us in Sri Lanka and hear from regions industry experts on the opportunities available in the region, find out what lessons they have learnt about doing business in the region and how they have overcome development and operational challenges. Find out how banks are working together with investors to drive this economy forward, and what developers and owners need to provide to attract the big operators.

The maiden edition of Travel Wedding Show will be inaugurated by Shaji Thomas, Director, Destination Tourism Development, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority along with Rajeev Jain, Director, Rashi Entertainment and Rajnish Rathi, Publisher/Editor, Wedding Affair. This exclusive closed-door event, to be held from July 9-10, 2016, in Gurgaon, aims to bring together a selective list of 30 exhibitors and 30 buyers under one roof. The first day will cater exclusively to wedding planners, while the second day will target specialised travel agents with experience of global weddings informed Sarika Rawal Bhambani, General Manager, Travel Wedding Show. “Travel Wedding Show aims to deliver real value by successfully targeting the right customers as well as the discerning wedding clients who have vast spending power and are frequent buyers of high quality fashion, jewellery and related services.” Speaking about the inaugural edition, Executive Chairman and Founder of PLG, Alwin Zecha said, “Our aim has always been to provide our clients with a complete range of services for all their business requirements with assistance from our experienced and dedicated staff. With this event, we intend on bringing the same level of expertise to the Indian market and thoroughly delighting our clients.”

The maiden edition of Travel Wedding Show will be held from July 9-10 in Gurgaon. The exclusive closed-door event aims to bring together a selective list of 30 exhibitors and 30 buyers under one roof. Speaking about the inaugural edition, Executive Chairman and Founder of PLG, Alwin Zecha said, “Our aim has always been to provide our clients with a complete range of services for all their business requirements with assistance from our experienced and dedicated staff. With this event, we intend on bringing the same level of expertise to the Indian market and thoroughly delighting our clients.” The first day will cater exclusively to wedding planners, while the second day will target specialised travel agents with experience of global weddings informed Sarika Rawal Bhambani, General Manager, Travel Wedding Show. “Travel Wedding Show aims to deliver real value by successfully targeting the right customers as well as the discerning wedding clients who have vast spending power and are frequent buyers of high quality fashion, jewellery and related services.”

ITB Berlin has announced its co-branded India show, Bharat International Tourism Bazaar, the first pure outbound show for the Indian market to be held in New Delhi from October 3 to 6, 2016 (Monday-Thursday). It is an alliance that focuses on the ‘Power of the Indian Traveller,’ and the show is expected to bring over 12,000 attendees, comprising industry and government, from within India and around the world.

Around 32 Foreign Tour Operators from 12 countries, and 10 corporates attended the first edition of Global MICE Travel Mart (GMTM). In all, 42 buyers and 27 sellers were in attendance. The next edition of GMTM will be held in July 2017, announced Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Immediate Past President, FICCI, and Chairperson, FICCI Tourism Committee at the inauguration of the 1st edition of Global MICE Travel Mart. Organised by FICCI in association with the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), the mart is being held from May 19-21 2016 at The Lalit, New Delhi. Dr Suri said that the conference is a step towards promoting India as a MICE destination and will be held annually here onwards. The FICCI-MRSS report on ‘India Inbound MICE Tourism – Trends and Opportunities’ was released during inaugural session where Dr A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, Chander Mansharami, Vice Chairman – ICPB, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, MOT and Rahul Chakravarty, Director & Head – Tourism, FICCI, spoke about MICE tourism in India. A panel discussion on ‘Furthering MICE Tourism into India – Rejuvenating the Roadmap’ with several well-known industry professionals followed after.

New Zealand’s biggest annual international tourism showcase, TRENZ, will return to Auckland in 2017, Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) announced. “After two highly successful years in Rotorua, we look forward to taking TRENZ back to New Zealand’s biggest city and international gateway,” says Chris Roberts, Chief Executive, TIA. The announcement was made on the final day of TRENZ 2016, which has brought more than 350 influential international travel buyers and media to meet about 300 leading New Zealand tourism operators at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre this week. TRENZ 2017 will take place on the Auckland waterfront, 9-12 May 2017 and will be hosted by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED).

The first edition of the Global MICE Travel Mart will be held in New Delhi from May 19-21 2016, informed RajanSehgal, Member, FICCI Tourism Committee. Organised by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in support with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and India Golf Tourism Association (IGTA), the by-invitation event will focus on inbound Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism and will showcase buyer-seller meets. So far, 34 buyers comprising foreign MICE tour operators, MICE associations and foreign corporate entities who will be hosted by MOT have been roped in while 22 suppliers including Indian corporate entities, tour operators, hotels and MICE venues have been registered for the event, with more registration expected. “The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has showed keen interest in hosting the foreign delegates and showcasing its Golf and MICE Tourism offerings such as Sher-I-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar and Pahalgam Golf course in Pahalgam. J&K Tourism also plans to spread awareness about the refurbished Pahalgam Club with state-of-art facilities,” stated Sehgal.

The 40th annual Rendez-vous Canada (RVC), Canada’s premier tourism marketplace, took place from April 24-27, 2016, in Montreal, Québec. During the conference, international tourism buyers met with Canadian sellers at a record-breaking 26,000 face-to-face business appointments. Hosted by Tourism Québec and Tourism Montreal, and taking place in the iconic Palais des congrès de Montreal, this year’s sold-out event features 536 buyers from 28 countries and 582 Canadian sellers from coast to coast —boasting the best seller-to-buyer ratio ever with one seller for every one buyer. “With a record attendance of 1,680 delegates at this year’s RVC, buyers and sellers are working to captivate and drive more people to visit Canada,” says David Goldstein, President and CEO of Destination Canada. “With the incredible range of diverse, fun and authentic Canadian experiences showcased at RVC, we are demonstrating to the world that we’re not cold, we’re cool.” There is no better time to #ExploreCanada and that will be made evident by the quality of experiences and products showcased for buyers. With every province, territory and sector of the tourism industry represented, the ripple effect of the connections made at RVC are sure to be monumental.

The International Healthcare Tourism Congress 2016 is going to be launched on March 18, at The Lalit Ashok Bangalore, Bengaluru, Karnataka. U.T Khader, Hon. Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka will give the inaugural address while Dr. C. N. Manjunath, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Science & Research will give the keynote address. The two day long event will conclude on March 19. On Day 1, there will be seminars on telemedicine, infrastructure and economics of healthcare tourism, oncology followed by buyers and sellers meetings. Day 2 will witness seminars on dentistry & opthalmology, Ayush & wellness, organ transplant, destination marketing, and geriatric medicine.