DRNew Delhi: Launched in 2016, India’s first full-fledged travel mart BLTM dedicated to Business, MICE and Luxury Travel recently concluded their fourth edition in Delhi. Qualified buyers from the National Capital Region and the rest of India were hosted at the event. The show opened doors to India’s 6.5 million outbound luxury and MICE tourists, as well as the fastest growing business travel market in the world.
115 exhibitors from 26 countries and 13 Indian States and Union Territories showcased at the two-day event. BLTM Delhi experienced an unprecedented footfall of 1225 B2B visitors and more than 200 buyers from India. The 2:1 Hosted Buyer to Seller ratio and additional footfall ensured the travel mart was always abuzz.
Dignitaries who graced the inaugural ceremony of BLTM were John A E Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism, Sri Lanka; Austin Fernando, High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in India; Kumar De Silva, Chairman, Sri Lanka Convention Bureau; Dr. Trust Lin, Director, Taiwan Tourism Bureau; Ismail Amer, Egyptian Tourism Counsellor; Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Group; Suresh M, Chairman, EEMA; Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman and CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd. and V Suresh, President, Fairfest Media Ltd. among others.
“We have been participating at BLTM for the past two years and the show has grown enormously since then. Last year, we received some great response from the travel trade and this year too our co-participants were glad to be a part of BLTM. The buyers here at BLTM mean business and they have great potential as well. I would love to be a part of upcoming BLTMs,” said Dr. Trust Lin.
Gracing the largest country pavilion at BLTM was Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, a returning participant from last year. The tourism mart also saw enthusiastic participation from National Tourist Organisations (NTOs) of Dubai, Egypt, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Spain, Greece and Philippines. Spain Tourism added a distinct flavour to BLTM by hosting an entertainment evening for Hosted Buyers together with Warq Tourism and Palladium Hotel Group. The evening was marked by dancing, sangrias, tapas and dinner.
Major Indian Tourism Boards matched up to their international counterparts. State Tourism Boards (STBs) of Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Punjab ensured their representation with a large number of sellers to showcase India at its best.
Some of the star exhibitors of BLTM 2019 include Hotel & Restaurant Association of Bhutan, Ambuja Neotia, Leisure & Luxury Hotels and Resorts, RailYatri.in, Denzong Leisure and Spiceland Holidays. Many event partners put their best foot forward to deliver a stupendous show. Cox & Kings, BLTM’s Knowledge Partner organised a destination workshop on Georgia and Azerbaijan on the inaugural day. Air India and Ethiopian Airlines were the Partner Airlines while the Ground Transportation Partner was Eco Rent A Car – Europcar. Justclickkaro.com was the online B2B Travel Partner.
Ismail Amer, Egyptian Tourism Counsellor, expressed his satisfaction with the event, “This is the first time we are participating at BLTM and that too with a 50 sq. mt. booth. We had six DMCs exhibiting with us and their feedback has been good. Next year we will enhance our booth space too.”
Onsite meetings were one of the most anticipated features of BLTM. Buyers and sellers interacted face-to-face, fresh appointments were made on the floor and pre-scheduled appointments were hosted with ease.
Sangeeta Rana, Executive Director, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Bhutan said, “This is our first time at BLTM. We decided to participate because we are focussing in a big way to attract MICE travellers to Bhutan. We are very happy with the outcome.”
Hosted buyers at BLTM included corporate travel planners with purchasing authority, travel companies catering to business, leisure, MICE and luxury travel, MICE travel managers and buyers, MICE organisers and managers, business travel managers and buyers, film destination companies, trade associations, wedding planners and event management companies.
Sandra Polo Canudas, Asia Pacific Sales Manager, Palladium Hotel Group had this to say, “This is our first experience at BLTM. We are very impressed with the way the show has been organised. At BLTM, we could have very meaningful meetings. I think BLTM was better because it’s a smaller event.”
One of the Hosted Buyers, Preeta Venugopal of Bekaert Industries Pvt. Ltd. said, “This was my first time at BLTM and I think the organisers have put in a lot of effort to make the show look perfect. I got to see many different exhibitors from all over the world and India. I was amazed to see so many new destinations in India. BLTM will definitely help me in planning my next travel with perfect suppliers.”
“BLTM filled a vacuum in the evolution of travel trade shows in India by sustaining an event focussed on business travel and MICE buyers. This year, the show attracted a large number of B2B visitors from leisure sector as well. However, presence of more than 100 corporate buyers is what made it unique,” remarked Sanjiv Agarwal.
Murtaza Kalendar, Managing Director, TravelShopTurkey said, “Turkey offers excellent avenues for MICE and Weddings, and we received many enquiries in that regard. The organizers of BLTM did a very good job and I would love to come back to this event next year.”
