DRMumbai: TTF Ahmedabad concluded on a high note, breaking all its previous records. The three-day show attracted unprecedented footfalls – 6116 travel trade visitors from Gujarat and Western India, and over 4525 general visitors. It saw a growth of 20 per cent over last year, with more than 665 exhibitors participating from 27 Indian states/UTs and 23 countries.
The event witnessed a participation of 6116 travel trade visitors from Gujarat and Western India, and over 4525 general visitors
TTF Ahmedabad 2018 was inaugurated in the presence of Mahendra Vakharia, President, OTOAI and MD, Pathfinder Holidays and Viranga Bandara, Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. At the inauguration, Mahendra Vakharia said, “Gujaratis love to explore new places, and TTF is one fair that operators and tourists in Gujarat eagerly await every year. We are proud to state that out of the eight-city TTF series’ in India, TTF Ahmedabad received the maximum participation. It has developed into a vital platform for travel organisers to connect and network with new and old partners.”
Viranga Bandara commented, “We have lots of Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka, the number is growing year on year. In fact, we are expecting 4.50 lakh tourists from India in 2018. TTF provides a great opportunity for us to engage with the travel trade apart from directly connecting us with tourists. This year, we have 18 participants from Sri Lanka showcasing their best deals in Ahmedabad. I urge Ahmedabad’s travellers to come down to Sri Lanka to enjoy our hospitality and explore the beaches, forests, wildlife, and Ramayana Trail attractions.”
Excited about his visit to TTF, Jong Sool (Michael) Kwon, Director, Korea Tourism Organization, New Delhi said, “Ahmedabad is very welcoming. I welcome the people of Ahmedabad to visit Korea to explore the country’s beautiful nature, festivals, and vibrant underground shopping malls that have a lot to offer.”
Among exhibitors from abroad, Nepal and Sri Lanka were the Partner Countries where Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau had the largest pavilion. Bahrain and Korea were presented as the Feature Countries with large pavilions. Other countries represented at TTF Ahmedabad included Azerbaijan, Bhutan, China, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan participated with large number of hotels and agents from their regions as Partner States of TTF. Other states like West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andaman & Nicobar and Meghalaya set up colourful pavilions. Gujarat participated in a big way as the Host State.
The first two days of the show were reserved for the travel trade and the last day was open for general visitors. TTF Ahmedabad caters to the tourism industry in the region at a strategically important time before the high season of Diwali.
Besides Ahmedabad, the event was visited in large numbers by travel agents and tour operators from proximity markets in Gujarat like Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Valsad, Navsari, Vapi, Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Anand, etc. through the cooperation of a large number of local travel trade associations.
On the second day of the show, an award ceremony was held to recognise and honour the most promising ventures in the tourism sector.
Soon after TTF Ahmedabad, TTF Surat was held from September 14-16 at the Pandit Dindayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium, followed by TTF Pune from September 28-30. TTF Mumbai is on from October 5-7. In 2019, TTF Chennai is scheduled to commence from February 8-10 and TTF Bengaluru from February 15-17.
In view of huge demand, TTF SUMMER has been launched in Ahmedabad (February 1-3, 2019).
With consistent support from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, State Tourism Boards, National Tourist Offices of several countries, thousands of private exhibitors and trade associations, TTF continues to be the widest platform providing opportunities for buyers and sellers from across the country to showcase their latest offerings and build long term business ties.
TTF is supported by Incredible India, TAAI, OTOAI, ATOAI, ADTOI, IATO, IAAI, SKAL International and ETAA.
SPECIAL SEMINAR BY COX & KINGS
The oldest and leading tour operator Cox & Kings, with operations in 22 countries across continents, held a special seminar on destinations including Indonesia, Finland and the Baltic States at TTF Ahmedabad. Celebrating 260 years, Cox & Kings’ business representatives presented the diversified offerings of the three destinations to a packed room of industry partners. Cox & Kings won Best Decoration Award-Booth at the event.
About 100 suppliers and other stakeholders used the opportunity to network and solve their queries with representatives from Cox & Kings and airline partners during the seminar.
Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, said, “Cox & Kings believes in providing a seamless platform to educate all our travel trade partners about the latest developments. We are happy to partner with beautiful destinations including Indonesia, Finland and the Baltic States and promote their diverse offerings. Discerning travellers of India are demanding complex travel solutions and we are here to support our fraternity and enable them through this highly engaging TTF forum.”
These targeted seminars at trade shows including the one at TTF have been offering an interactive platform for the destinations to explore the Indian outbound segment.
Delegates from Qatar Airways and Garuda Indonesia were also present. The representatives held an interactive session with the audience.
There has been a growing interest among Indians towards Indonesia and Finland. Finland had witnessed a robust growth of 42 per cent in tourist arrivals and overnights from the Indian market in 2017. Bali has been an all-time favourite. It recorded a growth of about 30 per cent as compared to 2016. The seminar also focused on lesser-known places at the destinations launched.
KASHMIR SAFEST DESTINATION FOR WOMEN: DIRECTOR OF TOURISM
Jammu & Kashmir Tourism organised a press conference at TTF Ahmedabad on Day 2 as Gujarat is one of the major markets for J&K. Tasaduq Jeelani, Director, Jammu & Kashmir Tourism quipped, “The State has more than 500 different tourist spots. While the Jammu region is bestowed with destinations of religious interest, there are places like Patnitop and various lakes that make a perfect leisure and family destination.”
Speaking about facilities for tourists, Jeelani commented, “We have high-end facilities for travellers who are looking for an onward journey from Jammu. Srinagar and other places in the valley like Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Pahalgam are well-connected by road. We have good air connectivity to Srinagar from other cities of India.”
He also confirmed that the tourism department has worked on bettering tourism facilities in Srinagar by providing reservation centres where travellers can book houseboats and shikara rides. “We have introduced adventure tourism like white water rafting to attract adventure junkies,” he added.
