DRMumbai: Eyeing to position destinations and products of the country in international source markets, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) with support from State/UT governments is organising ITM 2018 (Indian Travel Mart) from September 16 to 18 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. FAITH is the apex organisation of important trade and hospitality associations of the country.
“This event has been in discussion for almost a decade. The Ministry should host the event and trade shall participate was the model being deliberated. We have turned it around. The trade under the aegis of FAITH will host the event and MoT will support,” said Suman Billa IAS, Joint Secretary, MoT.
“This model ensures accountability and ownership across the board. MoT is offering the venue and flying in the buyers. Industry will take care of hotel accommodation, food and local transport. And the States/UTs will support through FAM trips and also by putting up the stalls”.
The objective of the Mart is to create a global tourism expo for India on the lines of major international travel shows being held in countries across the world. The Mart will provide a platform for stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industries to interact and transact business opportunities.
“India is rapidly growing and so we need a global tourism mart at a national level to showcase the country. Currently, we have very good regional marts like KTM (Kerala Travel Mart). Such an event also allows smaller sellers in Tier II and III cities to meet the global buyers. In fact, we are open to moving it around the country to places where good MICE infrastructure exits.”
ITM aims to be 100 per cent inbound focussed. “We will consider including the outbound segment if we want to cross-subsidise inbound participation with that money. Outbound is growing very well in India. The danger with including outbound is that we could lose focus. We want to narrow cast for inbound at least for the first few years before opening it up for including outbound,” reasons Billa.
The objective of the Mart is to create a global tourism expo for India on the lines of major international travel shows being held in countries across the world
Buyer delegates are being invited from established and emerging source markets such as North America, West Europe, East Asia, Latin America, CIS countries etc. to participate in the Mart. Approximately, 300-plus international buyers, influencers and bloggers are expected to attend the event.
International delegates hosted from overseas markets will interact with Indian seller delegates. The profile of the buyers will include current buyers who are already selling India as well as potential buyers who are not selling India at present but have shown interest in the country.
The event will also provide an opportunity to the buyers to see world-class tourism facilities available in the country such as airports, hotels, tourist destinations, attractions, upcoming infrastructure, MICE facilities, possibilities in the field of adventure tourism and other niche products as part of pre and post event FAM trips organised by the various State/UT governments.
Various itineraries and programmes on diverse themes are being designed for this purpose. Around 175-200 stalls will be provided to the sellers to enable them to interact with the buyers. These will include pavilion for States and Union Territories to showcase their unique tourism destinations and products.
The event will be formally inaugurated on September 16 and B2B meetings between buyers and sellers will be held on September 17 and 18. Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group and secretary of FAITH, has been nominated as the Chairperson of the organising committee of ITM 2018.
