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60 countries at OTm 2017 make it the most International Trade show in India

Exhibitors from a record number of 60 countries showcased their destinations at OTM 2017 from February 21-23 at the Bombay Convention &

Exhibition Centre. This was by far the largest number of countries participating in any trade show in the country.

1,343 travel organisations from 60 Countries exhibited at OTM 2017. Over 10,000 travel trade visitors attended the show in addition to more than 500 buyers from travel trade and corporate sectors who had qualified for special hosting privileges. International buyers from countries like Kuwait, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia and Thailand were also extended similar hosting hospitality.

Who’s who from the global travel industry assembled at OTM 2017. The dignitaries present at the inaugural session included Sohan Singh Thandal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Punjab; I Gde Pitana, Deputy Tourism Minister for Overseas Promotion of Indonesia; H.E. Dr Ahmed Albanna, UAE Ambassador to India; H.E. Demetrios A Theophylactou, High Commissioner, Cyprus High Commission; Dimitris Tryfonopoulos, Secretary General, Greek National Tourism

Organisation; Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board; H.E. Erdal Sabri Ergen, Consul General, Consulate General of Turkey in Mumbai; Ismail A Hamid, Egyptian Tourism Counsellor, Egyptian Tourism Office; Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India.

The Tourism Minister of Greece, Elena Kountoura graced the show with her presence on second day. H.E. Panos Kalogeropoulos, Ambassador of Greece to India and the Tourism Minister took a tour of the show and interacted with various other participants. This was the first time that Greece Tourism participated at OTM 2017 with a large delegation including private sector operators.

The UAE Ministry of Economy organised a national Visit UAE pavilion for the second year in a row, featuring various tourism departments and agencies from the UAE. The delegation was led by H.E. Dr Ahmed Albanna who informed that the UAE has broadened its presence to include the various government bodies responsible for tourism in all the emirates as well as private sector

representatives involved in tourism.Premium Partner Country of OTM 2017, Turkish

Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been participating at OTM for the last seven years with a large number of tour operators. Gülara Alkaçır, Culture & Tourism Officer was extremely satisfied with the event turnout and expects many more tourists from India.

Besides showcasing their myriad tourism attractions, Indonesia Tourism presented an array of cultural offerings during the show. Representatives from Indonesia’s travel and tourism industry under the umbrella of The Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia discussed their India-specific tourism promotion plans during OTM 2017.

First-time participants at OTM like Bahrain, Cambodia, Cyprus, Greece, Ho Chi Minh City provided variety of experiences to the valued travel trade partners and Indian travellers.

Mumbai is the largest source market for leisure and MICE travel in India. It accounts for some 60% of the outbound travel market in India, considering it is the most popular gateway for the entire West and South India. OTM provides the right platform for national and international tourism boards and private operators to tap this market in the most comprehensive and cost- effective way.

A brand-new addition at OTM 2017 was the co-located BLTM- Business & Luxury Travel Mart, where qualified hosted buyers met the sellers by appointments.

2018: Jan 23, 24, 252019: Jan 23, 24, 25

Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai

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Contd. from page 1

To tap into this lucrative market, OTM 2017 had participants from 60 countries. These included NTOs from Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Dubai, Egypt, Fiji, Fujairah, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, Ras Al Khaimah, Romania, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sharjah, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and country representations from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, USA.

Participation from India was equally aggressive as their international counterparts. This included Tourism departments along with private operators from Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam,

Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and private sector participation from Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana in a big way. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India had a strong presence at the show.

More than 100 corporate buyers from top companies had pre-scheduled over 2000 appointments for meeting sellers of their choice at the show. OTM is the only travel trade show in the country to have the participation of corporate buyers on this grand scale.

In another first, the MICE Club was launched at OTM, with an objective to facilitate networking and education opportunities among the community of buyers and sellers from Business Travel and MICE segments.

OTM 2017 had deployed a state-of-the-art online meeting diary system provided by EventsAir based in Australia. It is an advanced system that facilitated matchmaking and appointments between the Buyers and Sellers, and received over 5000 meeting requests prior to the show.

OTM 2017 was supported by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), Maharashtra Tour Operators Association (MTOA), Travel Agents Association of Pune (TAAP), Travel Agents Association

of Nashik (TAAN), South Gujarat Association of Travel Agents (SATA), SKAL International, Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA), etc.

In addition to buying and selling opportunities on the show floor, exhibitors from various countries and states also made colourful cultural presentations. There was an equally interesting line up of workshops and presentations conducted on the sidelines of the mart.

Fairfest was the first mover in India in the space of travel marts. It was established in 1989. Its OTM is now India’s largest travel trade show on the basis of countries represented, as well as the number of sellers and buyers.

Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd (organiser of OTM), said, “We are excited about the record number of 60 countries participating in OTM 2017, which is the largest ever in any trade show in India. We have seen growth and consolidation of our lead as the largest travel fair in every other parameter including area of exhibition halls rented, number of sellers and buyers. It also shows resilience of travel market despite slowdowns.”

OTM 2018 & 2019 will be held from January 23-25 at the Bombay Exhibition & Convention Centre.

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Tourism Authority of ThailandNew Delhi: Tel: 91 11 46741111 | Email: [email protected]: Tel: 91 22 22042727 | Email: [email protected] Website: www.tourismthailand.org


It is praiseworthy that Fairfest Media Ltd is organising this show since last 30 years with a view to providing a platform for the

stakeholders of the travel and tourism industry to meet network and explore opportunities for tourism exchanges between countries, states and regions. I hope that this travel show will help in promoting tourism and popularising tourist destinations in the country including Maharashtra. I extend my best wishes to organisers and all participants and wish OTM 2017 a grand success.

I understand that with over 1000 exhibitors from 60 countries and from 25 states from all over India, OTM 2017 will be India’s

biggest-ever travel trade show and Maharashtra Tourism is happy to lend its full support as the Host State. Our big participation at OTM over the years underlines the importance of which our Government attaches to tourism as an economic driver. This travel trade show is the welcome to this ‘Visit Maharashtra Year 2017’. I wish all the exhibitors and visitors at OTM good business and a comfortable and enjoyable stay in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Our world is the largest teaching institute and travelling is one of the impactful ways of learning in this universal school. The

benefit of travelling can’t be put completely through the words as it helps a person to grow emotionally, physically and spiritually. We should encourage and appreciate the efforts in the field of tourism. Travel Tourism Fair is organising city based travel shows at various cities of the country on various dates during the year. I convey my best wishes for the success of the fair.

We are pleased to be associated with OTM as it is one of the fastest growing platforms with 20.38 million outbound

tourists in 2015, growing at 11.1% over 2014. The objective of participation at OTM is to promote Maharashtra as the world-class tourist destination and offer opportunity to travel & tour operators to interact with foreign buyers, retail buyers, exhibitors, policy makers, investors and many more.

We are pleased to be associated with OTM over the years. OTM provides a platform to

showcase products both domestic and international, thereby giving visitors an exposure and enhancing the promotion and development of the tourism industry. In such events networking does take place and avenues are open for business opportunities to grow.

OTM is the largest ever show being organised in India for the travel trade fraternity. The exhibitors are increasing every year which is making OTM more popular event. OTM provides a big opportunity for agents doing MICE business. In my

view, OTM is an event that makes us ‘Meet the World’.

ADTOI supports OTM as partner association as it gives impetus to domestic tourism. OTM

is one of the sought after travel marts where buyer-seller meets take place and generate good business for the industry players.

Praveen ChughPresidentTravel Agents Federation of India (TAFI)

Gajesh GirdharNational CoordinatorNetwork of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA)

P P KhannaPresidentAssociation of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI)

The good thing about OTM is that it not only brings conventional products every time, but

also new countries making it very productive for the tour operators. Looking into the various shows that are happening I think the structure of OTM is better and OTOAI will always be partnering with OTM.

Guldeep Singh SahniPresidentOutbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI)

Every year the travel trade fraternity looks for-ward to OTM because it has an exceptional

ability to bind the tourism industry under one roof. As the national apex body of the tourism industry, IATO will continue its support to OTM in the years to come.

Pronab SarkarPresidentIndian Association of Tour Operators (IATO)

Heavyweights and travel industry leaders extend whole-hearted support to OTM 2017DEVENDRA FADNAVISChief MinisterMaharashtra

JAYKUMAR RAWALMinister of TourismGovernment of Maharashtra

VIJAY RUPANIChief MinisterGujarat

VALSA NAIR SINGHPrincipal Secretary- Tourism & CultureGovernment of Maharashtra


It’s the first time that Greece has participated in such a grand way at the OTM exhibition. Tourism Ministry of Greece is extremely delighted to be a part of this beautiful and big exhibition. We are also very happy to meet the wonderful people from the travel trade background and introduce them to our destination, history and culture. OTM is a way of connecting people

from the tourism industry. Elena Kountoura

Minister of TourismGreece

OTM is an exhibition that turns fruitful for not only the travel and tourism professionals, but also anyone who is connected with this sector. India is a very important market for us. Last year Indonesia observed around 3,50,000 visitors from India which in comparison to 2015 has witnessed a 31% increase. For the year 2017, we anticipate an increase of 5,03,000 from India. OTM

provides us with a platform to showcase our destination, helping us outreach the Indian market.

I Gde PitanaDeputy Tourism Minister

Overseas Promotion of Indonesia

It is our pleasure to be a part of India’s biggest travel and tourism show in India which has an array of country representations and state tourism boards. Gone are the days when tourism was confined to leisure, it has turned into a relationship between one country to another and one state with another. OTM creates a platform for the participants to exhibit their tourism offerings as they

eagerly promote and contribute in spreading awareness about the participants.

sohan singh ThandalMinister of Tourism

Government of Punjab

OTM is a specialised tourism centric show where it concentrates on the travel and tourism industry as a whole. Looking at the OTM exhibition and the importance of the show, we participated in the exhibition last year as well. We look forward to participate in OTM’s future edition, where we will continue to showcase the tourism products and

potential of the UAE.h.E. Dr ahmed albannaUAE Ambassador to India

Turkish Ministry of Tourism & Culture has participated as a premium partner for this year’s edition of OTM and this exhibition not only looks vibrant, but quiet large. In the year 2017-18, the message of Turkish Ministry of Tourism and Culture is that Turkey will continue to give high importance as a destination to India which can be seen through our participation at the OTM.

h.E. Erdal sabri ErgenConsul General

Consulate General of Turkey in Mumbai

Leaders from the global tourism industry applaud the outreach of OTm 2017

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We are proud to be participating at OTM for the first time and certainly not the last. Greece will be here systematically for the coming years to convince Indian people to visit our beautiful nation. India is a strategic market for us and OTM is the perfect platform to interact directly with the travel trade of the Indian market.

DImITrIs TrYFONOPOuLOs Secretary General

Greek National Tourism Organisation

OTM 2017 has provided a great platform to Malaysia, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of ASEAN this year. This event would provide great impetus to us as 2017 is set to be the year of tourism revival for Malaysia. We had some 722,000 tourist visiting the country in 2015 and through OTM we look forward to attracting even more in 2017.

DaTuK sErI mIrZa mOhammaD TaIYaB Director General

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board

OTM 2017 has been a real eye opener and we are pleased to have attended such a grand event. We attend OTM every year, since we consider this event to be very important for Turkey. We are planning lots of events for the Indian market and OTM is the one stop platform which provides the opportunity to interact with not just the Indian market, but other foreign markets as well.

GuLara aLKacIr Culture & Tourism Officer

Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism

OTM 2017 in Mumbai has been a very good platform for the Philippines. It has helped us to showcase our destinations and to effectively introduce our partners from both the private and the government sectors to Indian travellers. The event helped us to promote new destinations like Palawan and many more. I would like to congratulate the organisers of OTM for such a wonderful and business oriented event.

GLEN aGusTINChief Tourism Operations Officer

Department of Tourism- Philippines

OTM 2017 has been quite impressive. It has improved to become a much more colourful and creative show which has attracted a large number of major outbound destinations. This year we are promoting ourselves as MICE as well as a wedding and film destination and OTM has been able to provide the right platform for us to do so.

DEmETrIOs a ThEOPhYLacTOu High Commissioner

Cyprus High Commission

We participate at OTM every year and consider this to be very important event as we get to communicate directly with our travel partners. OTM is a great platform to analyse the market and to have direct dialogue with tour operators about the arrangements for the coming season. The organisers have done a good job of keeping up with the trends. Special workshops on wedding and films are good signs that the show is evolving every year.

IsmaIL a hamID Egyptian Tourism Counsellor

Egyptian Tourism Office

It is our second participation at OTM because India is the second largest outbound market for us. Through our participation, we have seen the developing interest of people to know more about our destination. Some visitors already knew about Rwanda and some came to know for the first time. This proves how significant our participation is in this large exhibition.

mucYO ruTIshIsha2nd Counsellor

High Commission of the Republic of Rwanda

It’s our maiden participation at OTM 2017 and we have observed good quality of trade visitors. The level of this exhibition and its outreach has been significant for us. The number of participating countries has also been quiet impressive. We look forward to participate in the future editions of OTM and promote Bahrain as a GCC country.

suNIL maThaPaTI Country Manager

Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority

Sellers Speak

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | march 2017 9 post event report •

This is the fifth time that we have participated at OTM bringing together 12 participants from the tourism and airline industry. OTM has proven to be a great platform for Indonesia Tourism to attract tourists from India. We have a long relationship with India, especially in tourism and hope to improve it further through OTM.

PaK muhammaD rIcKY FauZIYaNI Deputy Director- Exhibitions

Ministry of Tourism, Republic of Indonesia

OTM 2017 has been an excellent experience for Kenya Tourism Board. We have participated this time with our private sector. We also utilised the online meeting diary through which we were able to conduct many productive meetings. As a tourism board we recognise the potential of participating in this exhibition, to interact with the trade.

Dr mOhaNJEET Brar Director

Kenya Tourism Board

As a country, we have been participating in OTM for the last few years. This time, we had around 32 sellers with us. As far as the response is concerned, the numbers have gradually increased with each edition of OTM. I must thank the organising team for such an event and we are looking forward to participate in future editions as well.

VIraNGa BaNDara Assistant Director- Marketing

Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau

We at OTM 2017 are largely positioning Macao now for family travellers. We have been participating at OTM since 2015. It’s a fantastic show and we hope to continue this association for longer. To the OTM team, keep on doing the good job, you’re all extremely friendly and hospitable.

arZaN KhamBaTTa Head of India Representative OfficeMacao Government Tourism Office

OTM 2017 has been a really good event. We have seen lots of activities in these three days with many destinations showcasing their unique culture. The quality of buyers was good and we are happy with the response that our partners got. We have been part of OTM for the past few years and the feedback has been really good, that’s why we keep coming back every year.

VaIJaYaNThI KarI India Representative

Tourism Fiji

Thailand participates at OTM almost every year. It provides us the platform to meet important buyers and promote our destinations and new products to the market. I think OTM has been growing a lot, introducing new destinations every year.

suLaDDa saruTILaVaNDirector

Tourism Authority of Thailand- Pattaya Office

We at MMPRC have come with 15 of our travel partners to promote the destination at OTM 2017. For the last two years, we have been participating at OTM. This is a great platform that provides us the opportunity to meet with a lot of travel agents and buyers.

rEEsha rashEED Marketing Executive

Maldives Marketing & PR Corporation

OTM 2017 is a very important event for us to promote Taiwan. We have been participating at OTM for several years. This show has enabled us to meet many buyers and it pleases me to see that many of them are interested in promoting Taiwan.

chErNG TYaN, suVice Chairman

Taiwan Visitors Association

Sellers Speak


This year we have received many inquiries from Indian buyers to travel to Japan. In our opinion, the quality of the buyers at OTM 2017 has been improvised extensively. Through our participation, we have been able to leave a constructive response on Indian travel industry and look forward to participate in future as well.

TOshINOrI YamaDa Sr. Asst. Manager- Inbound Promotion Department

Japan National Tourism Organisation

We are honoured to be a part of this grand exhibition for the second time in association with JNTO. We participate in this exhibition because India is very important source market for us. The current economy is growing and perhaps in the next five years the number of tourists from India to our country will double. Therefore, it’s important for us to continue our participation in this exhibition.

DaIsuKE OKumuraGeneral Manager

Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau

This being my first time, I must say that OTM has been an excellent event for us to promote Romania and the people here are extremely hospitable and friendly. The overall response was amazing and I believe that OTM will keep on playing an important part in the coming years in the travel trade industry.

marcEL aNGhEL Director

Romanian National Tourism Office- Beijing

This is our first participation at OTM and we have observed a wide range of good quality visitors. Our participation in this exhibition is essential in order to reach out to the Indian travellers and travel agents to promote our destination. We appreciate the effort of the organisers for having a wide range of destinations exhibit at the OTM.

ELsIE sINON Marketing Executive

Seychelles Tourist Office

OTM is an excellent exhibition because we have been able to meet quite a good number of buyers and visitors. The show has been organised very appropriately. We also look forward to participate next year, probably even in a bigger way because our B2B meetings during the show have been extremely fruitful.

PhILIP s chITauNGa Tourism Services Manager

Tanzania Tourist Board

OTM 2017 has proved to be an excellent platform to meet a variety of business partners from different destinations. The response has been excellent and we have created good business opportunities. The quality of the show illustrates that OTM has gathered the right people at the right place.

VINcENT DarrE Regional Sales Manager Asia

Europcar International

OTM has provided us a great platform to build healthy travel connections within the industry. The show has been equally terrific and electrifying for us. The response of the exhibition has been quite good because we have had many buyers visiting our booth with constructive queries. We hope to return to the next edition of OTM with a bigger space.

saNKaLP aGarWaL Co-Founder & CEO

Travel Triangle

Sellers Speak

This is the first time we are participating at OTM because we consider it as the biggest travel trade exhibition in India. This platform provides a bigger opportunity to promote the destinations similar to how we were able to promote the culture and beauty of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City.

NGuYEN TrI VIENChief of Office

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism


OTM is a huge platform and we are participating in this exhibition every year. Through our participation at OTM, our aim has been to promote J&K as a tourist destination. We have declared 2017 as ‘Visit Jammu & Kashmir’ year and are hopeful that there will be a good footfall of tourists to J&K this year.

FarOOQ a shah Secretary Tourism

Government of Jammu & Kashmir

The response here at OTM 2017 has been quite good and the fact that it is being organised here at Mumbai is even better. Mumbai is a very good market for us which is why OTM was in our mind and we had done a lot of preparations for it. OTM as a travel trade fair helped us locate new potentials in our radar- both domestic and foreign.

hImaNshu shuKLaDirector Tourism

Government of Andhra Pradesh

OTM 2017 is an exceptionally good show and I am seeing a lot of variety in the form of participants whether it’s from states or countries. We are participating with one of the biggest contingency of partners, around 50+ which shows how important OTM is for us. We are looking forward to an even bigger participation next year.

VIVEK sINGh chauhaN Joint Director Tourism

Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board

OTM 2017 has been organised extremely well and I can see that the number of participants are greater in comparison to previous years. The response has been very good, especially the B2B interactions. The way this entire exhibition was organised is also impressive making this year’s edition of OTM one of the best.

u K PaTI Deputy Director Tourism

Government of Odisha

We have been participating at OTM Mumbai for a long time. The B2B interactions with the various countries and states at OTM 2017 were very helpful. We have brought together 21 partners with us and all of them were glad to participate at this wonderful exhibition.

BashaB BOra Tourist Information Officer

Assam Tourism Development Corporation Ltd

OTM 2017 has been fantastic for us as we had a bigger participation this time. We also got positive response in terms of groups and tie-ups. It has been nice to see such professionalism coming into the Indian travel industry through this exhibition. OTM team should keep doing such fair, which is very important for the people who need more experience and exposure within the industry that keeps evolving.

KrIshNaKumar V KuNJaPPaN Asst. GM- Commercial

Air India

OTM has been an extremely interesting platform. It has been well organised and I saw that an even greater variety of destinations had participated in this year’s edition. The online meeting diary was very good in setting up meetings and it is a plus point for all the buyers and sellers.

IrshaD PaTEL Head- Marketing & Sales

Creative Tours & Travels (India) Pvt Ltd

It’s our first participation at OTM and our experience at the exhibition has been good. This year, we decided to explore other source markets and our participation has been worth here due to the phenomenal range of buyers we had come across. This exhibition not only has a solid hold of the domestic market, but also MICE and outbound segment.

NITIN srIVasTaVa Director- Sales & Marketing

Clarks Inn Group of Hotels

Sellers Speak


Visit uaE participates as Focus country for the second consecutive year

This is our second participation at OTM and also as a Focus Country. This exhibition is a key platform for us to work closely with our travel partners from India and raise more awareness on our destination United Arab Emirates (UAE). Through our participation at OTM, we aim to showcase the key attractions of UAE. OTM has provided a great platform for participating

countries to interact and explore the trends in the tourism industry.

aBDuLLah saLEh aL hammaDI Director

Ministry’s Tourism Department, UAE

OTM 2017 has proven to be a well organised exhibition with a very good turnout. We understand why it is considered as one of the main events in India for the travel trade industry. This year’s edition has brought forth a great quality and variety of destinations and we would definitely like to keep being a part of this event in the years to come.

BEJaN DINshaWCountry Manager

Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority

The Indian market is extremely important to Fujairah and we have found OTM to be a very good platform in tapping this market. The overall response of OTM 2017 was very good, especially the variety of destinations. We will definitely participate in the future editions of this exhibition.

Omar BaNI hamOurMarketing & Exhibitions Coordinator

Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority

India is a huge market and we know that there are very few prestigious and successful events in the country, one of them being OTM. Over the last couple of years, we have been participating in this exhibition and have observed how good a platform it is. The quality of buyers at OTM 2017 is excellent and we have high expectations from the future editions of

this event. h.E. KhaLID JasIm aL mIDFa

ChairmanSharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority

OTM 2017 is an important platform for Dubai to showcase all that Dubai has to offer to the Indian market. India is the number one source market for visitors to Dubai and this platform helps us attract even more visitors from this market. We will be definitely participating in the next edition and use this event to keep on showcasing not only Dubai, but

the entire UAE as well. hamaD m BIN mEJrEN Senior VP- Stakeholders

Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce Marketing


The two Buyer-Seller Speed Networking sessions, designed to facilitate onsite meeting appointments with the buyers to visit the sellers, were a huge hit. Visit UAE Lounge was made available for the speed networking sessions. More than 500 qualified Buyers from all over India were qualified for special hosting privileges. In

addition to buyers from across India, international buy-ers from countries like Kuwait, New Zealand, Philip-pines, Russia and Thailand were also flown in.

OTM 2017 had deployed a state-of-the-art online meeting diary system provided by EventsAir based in Australia. It received over 5000 meeting requests

prior to the show. More than 100 corporate buyers from top companies had pre-scheduled over 2000 appointments for meeting sellers of their choice at the show. OTM is the only travel trade show in the country to have the participation of corporate buyers on this grand scale.

Buyer-seller speed Networking a huge success at OTm


Destination Weddings is one of the fastest growing segments in tourism. As per the statistics released in 2016, around 3,50,000 Indian weddings take place annually. The wedding industry in India is

over ̀ 100,000 crore and is growing at 25-30% annu-ally. A workshop on ‘Destination Indian Weddings’ was curated with the help of Globe Hoppers dur-ing OTM 2017 that highlighted the key estimates

of the booming wedding market. Some of the leading Wedding Planners from Mumbai and Delhi attended the session along with the tourism boards.

Forums like OTM are very important for Indian destination weddings as they provide the opportunity to interact with tourism government boards, which further help the destinations to gauge the requirements of a grand fabulous Indian wedding. Currently Indian wedding market is set to grow, so I believe sessions such as the one organised at OTM 2017 is the perfect platform for us to showcase our company to not just Indian states, but also to other foreign countries.

Devyani KantawalaDirector

The Flagship Store by Ferns N Petals

The workshop on Destination Indian Weddings at OTM 2017 was a really interesting session, where we got to discuss the various things that tourism board can do to support the growing market of international wedding destinations from India. Forums like this help in bringing the wedding industry together. OTM has been getting bigger every year and I believe the quality of visitors has improved over the years.

Birju GaribaCEO & Executive Director

Platinum World Group

I think this session on Destination Indian Weddings was a very big eye opener for the travel trade and with just two percent in the organised sector there is huge potential for this industry. The tourism boards were very intrigued with this session and I think this can become the next big thing.

abhijeet PatilChairman

GlobeHoppers

Workshop on Destination Indian Weddings

DEVYANI KANTAWALA DirectorThe Flagship Store by Ferns N Petals

BIRJU GARIBA CEO & Executive DirectorPlatinum World Group

ISMAIL A HAMID Egyptian Tourism CounsellorEgyptian Tourism Office

Moderator ABHIJEET PATILChairmanGlobeHoppers

Panellists


KULMEET MAKKARChief Executive OfficerThe Film & Television Producers Guild of India

UDAY SINGH Managing DirectorMotion Picture Distributors Association, India

UTKARSH SANGHVIPartnerErnst & Young

AASHISH SINGH Vice President- ProductionYash Raj Films

LOHITA SUJITH Director- Corporate CommunicationsMotion Picture Association of America, India Office

SANJIV AGARWAL Chairman & CEOFairfest Media Ltd

Moderator ABHIJEET PATILChairmanGlobeHoppers

Featuring destinations through films has been a tra-ditionally successful strategy for many destinations. Mumbai being one of the biggest hubs of film produc-tion in the world, OTM partnered with The Film and Television Producers Guild of India and Globe Hop-pers to organise ‘Shoot-at-Site’, an exclusive work-shop on Film Tourism focused on promoting tour-ism through films shoots, facilitating ease-of-doing business and making film-shooting friendly policies by the government.

The event was supported by LA India Film Coun-cil, Ernst & Young (EY) and Travel News Digest. The workshop was attended by international and state tourism boards and leading film production com-panies. An MoU was signed between Jammu & Kashmir Tourism and The Film and TV Producers Guild of India to promote film shootings.

Film shooting is something that involves the travel tourism industry and through sessions like Shoot-at-Site, we are able to highlight this factor. I see a wonderful time ahead for both the industries. Being a part of OTM for the last two years, I can say that this year’s edition is at least ten times better than the previous year.

Kulmeet makkarChief Executive Officer

The Film & Television Producers Guild of India

I believe Shoot-at- Site is a wonderful workshop organised by OTM. It’s a great place to interact with people not just as a production company, but as an individual. Things are a lot better now with people being more aware of Bollywood because of which countries and states are more welcoming and workshops like these help in promoting that even further.

aashish singhVice President- Production

Yash Raj Films

The impact that films have on tourism and the other way around is huge. OTM is doing an excellent job of bringing various countries and states together as well as creating such forums. I have seen OTM last year and it’s almost double the size this year.

utkarsh sanghviPartner

Ernst & Young

OTM 2017 is one gigantic gathering of the tourism industry and it’s lovely to see it growing every year. Knowledge exchange is a key aspect of growth and platforms like OTM facilitate that.

Lohita sujithDirector- Corporate Communications

Motion Picture Association of America, India Office

OTM is one of the biggest travel and tourism exhibitions which is why we aligned this session, Shoot-at- Site with OTM 2017. Countries and states want films to be shot at their own destinations but don’t know the process which is why through this workshop we created a synergy between the film industry and the OTM participants.

abhijeet PatilChairman

GlobeHoppers

shOOT – aT – sITE: Workshop on Film Tourism presented by Film Facilitation consortium

Panellists


Travel blogs have become powerful mediums through which destinations can tell their stories and build good relationships with potential visitors. Digital word-of-mouth communication is the most preferred medium for travel information sources. A Travel Blogger Speed-Networking Session was organised at OTM, providing exhibitors a chance to meet top travel bloggers from around the world and build on their promi-nent role in the travel marketing ecosystem. The format of the session was similar to the buyer-seller speed networking activity. 45 eminent travel bloggers of the country held mini-meetings with interested exhibitors. The session was coordinated by one of India's leading travel blogger couple, Rishabh Shah & Nirali Shah from Gypsycouple.

First ever Travel Blogger speed-Networking session witnessed 45 eminent travel bloggers

I believe this Travel Blogger Speed-Networking Session is a unique concept organised by OTM 2017. The session was very effective and it was especially nice to have one to one interactions with the brands. I am looking forward to more such events created by the organising team of OTM.

Gayatri GadreTravel Influencer

It was Gypsycouple’s first experience in organising such event at a B2B travel exhibition. The mix of exhibitors was good and most exhibitors we met up with were interested in knowing about how travelbloggers could help promote their destinations. However, a lot of credit for the successful completion of the event goes to the OTM team. All the bloggers have expressed interest in attending the next such event. We look forward to their assistance

in pulling off the biggest travel blogging event in India in the next edition of OTM. NIraLI shah

Founder & EditorGypsycouple

The blogger session was very fruitful as it brought both the travel industry and travel bloggers on a same platform. The session was mutually beneficial since it provided the opportunity for both travel industry and bloggers to align their agendas. So I would like to thank the OTM team for organising the event and hope to

see more sessions like this in the future. renuka Walter

Travel BloggerVoyager for Life

The travel blogger session at OTM 2017 was the perfect opportunity to connect to people from the travel industry. It provided a chance to create new contacts and I was also able to crack a few deals as well. For a blogger, OTM is the perfect platform to connect personally with travel tourism boards, which would not be possible if

we were just communicating via emails. Prerna sinha

Owner and Chief EditorMaa of All Blogs

It is very interesting to see an Indian travel mart organising a Travel Blogger Speed-Networking Session, since it’s more common in international marts. It was good to see so many tourism boards, hotels and travel agents showing their interest and the interaction that we had were very productive. OTM has done a great job and hope

they continue this initiative in the future. rutavi mehta

CEOPhotokatha International


We are always looking for better opportunities in the travel tour world, especially MICE which makes OTM 2017 the best platform for us. The buyer seller connectivity was much better than what I initially thought. I think the online meeting diary feature was very nice and organised which made handling meetings easier. OTM is a great forum and I wish them all the best.

surEsh NaIrManager- Procurements & Contracts

Reliance Industries Limited

I came to OTM 2017 from Beijing to see the potential of the Indian market and it is great. The buyer-seller meetings were excellent and helped us in networking with good quality of sellers. I have utilised the online meeting diary feature, it has all the facilities required to conduct fruitful meetings.

NaGaraJu KaNDuKurIOperations Director

AmazingChina.cn

OTM 2017 has been as good as its previous editions. I have been attending this show for a very long time. Through this platform, I have been able to interact with various potential new suppliers. The overall response from the buyers and sellers at OTM has been tremendous because the show is growing perfectly with its year on year editions.

raJEsh sEThIManaging Director

Carnation Travel Services Pvt Ltd

OTM 2017 has been great and I got the opportunity to meet various suppliers from the target market that I was looking forward to. The show has given broad prospect to understand the market itself which has grown tremendously over the few months that we have been working together. OTM is a one stop show where I got the opportunity to meet supplier from not only India, but from all over the world.

VIKraNT WaDhEraDirector- Global Accounts

Global Cynergies

OTM is one of the most extensive and knowledgeable fair giving it an edge in comparison to all other fairs. I noticed that there are a lot of standalone hotels, which we have never seen earlier. The unique online meeting diary feature turned out to be a great boom, saving a lot of time which showed how professionally it was done this time.

PramOD TONsEKarFounder & CEO

Marco Polo Voyages

This is my first visit to OTM and I am surprised to see the number of sellers at this exhibition. Apart from the Indian sellers, the quality and number of outbound sellers is quite impressive. The online meeting diary feature has helped us to screen through focused area of suppliers we would require for our business. I have been to several Indian travel and trade exhibitions earlier and found this show to be the most fruitful so far.

GOh hOcK GINManaging Director

Bel Travel & Tours SDN BHD

This year’s edition of OTM has been huge compared to last year. It has been a great experience to be a part of this year’s exhibition. The quality of sellers this time has been really good and so have been the display of all the country pavilions.

samEEr GuPTECEO

Tanvi International LLC

OTM has given a great chance in interacting with domestic and international suppliers. It is a great platform for travel agents to network under one roof. The online meeting diary feature this time also proved very convenient and user friendly, making it look more organised.

mITEsh shahManaging Director

iShop Holidays Pvt Ltd

This is my first OTM representing my company and it has been a positive experience. The sellers here were really good and the three days provided us a good opportunity to promote Sri Lanka to the travel trade. The response that we got at this event was really phenomenal and I congratulate the OTM team for doing such a wonderful job.

VIDYa sILVaManager – Tours

Lanka Holidays.Net (Pvt) Ltd

This is my first time attending OTM and I found it really interesting especially the different workshops and presentations. I was impressed with the workshop on destination weddings which provided a common platform for wedding planners to interact directly with the tourism boards. The organisers have done a great job and I wish them good luck for future events.

PrIYaNKa DhOTrEBusiness Development Manager

Swen Entertainment Pvt Ltd

OTM 2017 has been really fantastic and as a first time participant, I was very impressed with the quality of sellers. I found the online meeting diary to be an innovative feature which really helped in conducting the one on one meeting with the sellers. OTM is far superior to any other trade show that I have attended and would definitely recommend it to other buyers.

DIVEsh JaINCEO

Haute Living & Travels Pvt Ltd

This is my first participation at OTM and it has been a fantastic experience. The event is a perfect platform for both buyers and sellers as it provides the opportunity for direct one on one interaction. The online meeting diary is a very good concept which has helped us in pre-booking appointments with the sellers.

raJEEV raWaTDirector

Prime Link Travels

Buyers Speak


Compared to the previous editions I must say that OTM 2017 is big improvement especially when I look at the number of participants regardless of whether its countries or states. I must congratulate the Fairfest team for a job well done. The quality and variety of sellers were very impressive.

BurJIs mEhTaCEO

SKYWORLD Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd

It’s the second time that I am participating at OTM exhibition. It has not only expanded compared to last year, but has been very well organised. This time we have got an array of suppliers to meet and understand the industry. I had also utilised the online meeting diary feature through which I was able to conduct meetings with travel trade professionals whom we generally don’t meet.

VIVEK KaruLKarSr. Manager- Chairman’s Office

Suzlon Energy Ltd

We had a great experience at OTM 2017 because we were able to interact with different sellers in both domestic and international segment. Our visit to OTM is definitely useful to further grow our business in different arenas. Through OTM, we have got this platform to explore new verticals within tourism and we would love to associate in the future as well.

aNIKEsh PaTELAsst. Manager- Sales (Delhi NCR)

Sahibji Travels & Tours Pvt Ltd

OTM has been a really great event since we got to meet sellers from 60 different countries from around the world, making this a rich and informative event. The show was really well organised and I found the online meeting diary to be a nice feature which helped me conduct more than 40 meetings. Overall the quality of sellers at OTM 2017 was marvelous and I look forward to the next year’s edition.

aBhINaV PaTELHead – Sales & Operations

Festive Holidays

OTM 2017 has been a very good experience for me. The way the entire set-up has been organised was also quite impressive. The online meeting diary feature really helped me out in setting up meetings with the sellers easily and effectively. I hope to continue my association with this event in the future as well.

PhaNI chaKraVarThYDirector

Xotic Getways Pvt Ltd

As a first time participant, we found OTM to be a really good show. It is better than any other travel shows around and was really well organised. The seller quality was good and I found the online meeting diary to be very useful which helped manage my time in a more productive way. I look forward to the next year’s edition of OTM.

BaLBIr sINGh GaNDhIHoliday Packages Supervisor

Eco Travels

As a buyer, OTM 2017 has been a great event for me. The sellers here were phenomenal and I even got some good deals. The online meeting diary was an innovative feature and it really helped in conducting more than 60 meetings. Overall the organisers of OTM have done a great job this year and I wish them good luck for future.

hITEsh r aGraWaLManaging Director

Holiday Khoj

OTM has been a good platform to promote our products and provided the perfect opportunity to interact directly with the travel and trade. The organising team has done a great job of bringing participants from 60 countries all under one roof, which has really helped in expanding our visibility. OTM 2017 was truly an international event and hope it keeps on growing every year.

aTuL PIsaLManaging Director

Assets Infotech

OTM 2017 has been a very good experience for me. We are long time participants at OTM and I must say that this year’s edition was exceptional. The variety of destinations was very interesting. I had used the online meeting diary feature and it was quite good. I would definitely recommend others to visit OTM.

ThaKur s sCEO

Thakur Tour & Travel

Being in the outbound tourism industry, we have received a great exposure through OTM. We have been able to develop more business through our visit at the exhibition. It has given us a platform to develop ourselves as trade professionals. The buyer-seller meetings have also been excellent, giving us a way to meet sellers of our choice.

s sWarNarEKhaBusiness Director

Trinity Global Destination

OTM 2017 has been a fantastic experience for me. The addition of so many new and various destinations made reaching out to prospective businesses easier. The overall response has been quite good and I would definitely recommend others to visit and experience this wonderful platform.

hemant Kr. agarwalSuvidhaa Aapki

This is our first participation at OTM and has been a good platform for us. We were expecting to meet inbound tourism agencies of different countries and we got exactly that. The overall response is also good as we got to meet countries from Europe, Asia, Australia all under one roof.

aNuraG srIVasTaVaPartner

Dream a Holiday

Buyers Speak


Five reasons you need to be at IMEX 2017

The worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.

imex-frankfurt.com #IMEX17

Frankfurt

16–18 May 2017

Every year IMEX is a different experience. Here are 5 reasons why you need to be at IMEX 2017.

1. 3,500 exhibitors from across the world, all keen to offer you a taste of their destinations, venues, hotels and more. Want to make your event unforgettable? Meet the experts.

2. It’s not enough to simply be an event planner – you need to be a purposeful meetings planner. IMEX 2017 offers a wealth of insight on how to make meetings more purposeful, enlightening, impactful!

3. From apps to security, event technology is evolving fast – and we’re on the case. #IMEX17 will showcase our largest ever TECHknowledge Area.

4. Come to IMEX as a visitor buyer and you’ll get an online diary to make appointments with exhibitors of your choice. No RFP necessary – meet suppliers for fact-finding or research.

5. How will global changes affect your business? Join the event professionals, business owners and politicians who come to IMEX to discuss – and solve – the challenges facing our industry today.

Come to IMEX 2017 for insight and inspiration.

Join us and register today at imex-frankfurt.com/register

Ho Chi Minh City showcases its flavours

Cyprus Tourism presents investment opportunities for travel industry

World Tourism Cities Federation showcases its commitment to promote tourism

Indonesia presents cultural glimpses

Malaysia Health Travel Council promotes advanced healthcare

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism in collaboration with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Kargil took a mega initiative to promote ‘Ladakh’s Best Kept Secret’ i.e. Kargil as an upcoming tourism destination during OTM Mumbai 2017.

The roadshow was organised at the Hyatt Regency Mumbai on February 22, 2017 and attended by several dignitaries, 30 members of All Kargil Travel Trade Association and famous personalities from Bollywood like Javed Jaffrey and Imran khan.

The event was inaugurated by Jenab Haji Inayat Ali, Chairman- Legislative Council, who was the Chief Guest of the evening. Kacho Ahmad Ali Khan, Worthy CEC, LAHDC Kargil, was the Guest of Honour. The event was also graced by Mohammed Rafi Mir, Vice Chairman, JKTDC; Farooq A Shah, Secretary Tourism and Mahmood A Shah, Director Tourism.

While speaking at the event, Haji Inayat Ali said, “Through J&K Tourism’s participation at OTM, the government wants to invite the travel trade profes-sionals from Maharashtra and across India to visit our beautiful state. The situation in Kashmir is stabilised; we want to extend our hospitality to tourists and let them know that this place has overgrown its phase of crisis and wants to blossom once again. The govern-ment is working hard to boost and tap the unseen tour-ist spots in Ladakh, Kargil and the entire state of J&K.”

He added that the current Chief Minister, Meh-booba Mufti has assured her full commitment towards implementing the tourism plans and that no stone would be left unturned to develop Kargil as a tour-ism destination.

Later during the event, Haji Inayat Ali and Kacho Ahmad Ali khan released the second issue of Kargil Tourism brochure and launched the Kargil Tourism website.

Expressing his views on tourism in Kashmir, Farooq A Shah said, “We have declared 2017 as ‘Visit Jammu & Kashmir Year’ and are hopeful that this year

will attract even more tourists to the state. This is one of the prime reasons behind organising this roadshow. OTM has always given us priority and we wish to con-tinue this relationship in the future.”

An award ceremony was held where travel agen-cies who have included and marketed Kargil were awarded. The awardees were Overland Escape of Leh, A lifetime Trip of Delhi, Shangloo Travels of Kashmir, Trip India Holidays of Delhi and Distant Holidays of Kashmir. Also, the award for ‘Best Upcoming Destination’ was presented to Kargil by the organisers of OTM.

J&K organises roadshow highlighting Kargil as an upcoming destination

Five reasons you need to be at IMEX 2017

The worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events.

imex-frankfurt.com #IMEX17

Frankfurt

16–18 May 2017

Every year IMEX is a different experience. Here are 5 reasons why you need to be at IMEX 2017.

1. 3,500 exhibitors from across the world, all keen to offer you a taste of their destinations, venues, hotels and more. Want to make your event unforgettable? Meet the experts.

2. It’s not enough to simply be an event planner – you need to be a purposeful meetings planner. IMEX 2017 offers a wealth of insight on how to make meetings more purposeful, enlightening, impactful!

3. From apps to security, event technology is evolving fast – and we’re on the case. #IMEX17 will showcase our largest ever TECHknowledge Area.

4. Come to IMEX as a visitor buyer and you’ll get an online diary to make appointments with exhibitors of your choice. No RFP necessary – meet suppliers for fact-finding or research.

5. How will global changes affect your business? Join the event professionals, business owners and politicians who come to IMEX to discuss – and solve – the challenges facing our industry today.

Come to IMEX 2017 for insight and inspiration.

Join us and register today at imex-frankfurt.com/register

TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | MARCH 2017 22 • post event report

Album of OTM Participant Awards

23 post event report • TRAVEL NEWS DIGEST | MARCH 2017

Retreat Hotel & Spa

www.retreathotels.in Ph: 09007352111

VIHotels & Resorts

TM

TravelsSupport: +91 9314388288Email: [email protected]


Kapil Mishra, Tourism Minister of Government of NCT Delhi inaugurated the Delhi edition of the Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) 2017, India’s oldest and largest annual travel trade show network that brings together over 200 participants from across the country to show-case the rich potential of tourism in India.

The three-day event held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium Complex, New Delhi, provided a robust plat-form to the stakeholders of the domestic tourism indus-try to market their products, interact with trade part-ners, establish new networks and strengthen the fabric of the sector.

Industry leaders present at the inaugural included Manmohan Sadana, Regional Director (North), India Tourism Delhi; Pronab Sarkar, President, Indian Asso-ciation of Tour Operators (IATO); P P Khanna, Presi-dent, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI); Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI); Praveen Chugh, President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group.

The industry representatives present on the occa-sion stressed on the need for lower taxation to promote tourism. They recommended that the luxury tax in Delhi should be brought down and applied on actual rather than printed tariffs, which the Minister agreed upon. They also suggested that GST on tourism should be at the lowest slab.

Speaking on the need for better cooperation between the government and tourism industry, Mishra, said, “There are certain barriers that need to be bridged which can only be done when the government and industry join hands and start working together. I appeal to the tour-ism industry to come with clear policies and sugges-tions to the Ministry and we will start working together to achieve the low hanging fruits available to us. We will make sure that GST will be implemented in the right manner and that no one in the industry suffers due to it.”

“We are working alongside the Central Government to make Delhi a destination city, positioning it as a spir-itual and heritage circuit. I see two barriers for the tour-ism industry in Delhi– cleanliness and safety. I will per-

sonally lead this campaign,” the Minister added.Jammu & Kashmir Tourism participated at TTF New

Delhi to showcase Kashmir’s rich tourism potential and to remind Delhites that J&K is the most nearest and best destination in the country for visiting round the year. Farooq A Shah, Secretary Tourism, Government of J&K and other officials had one to one interactions with the potential visitors to woo them for spending their sum-mer holidays in the beautiful valley of Kashmir.

The New Delhi edition of TTF saw the participation of industry stakeholders from 20 States/ Union Territo-ries as well as four countries. The event attracted a foot-fall of 3,200 trade visitors and 4,100 general visitors over the three days.

The largest pavilions this year were from Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar and Jharkhand.

South India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA), the southern region of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI) partici-pated at TTF New Delhi along with 10 members.

“Domestic tourism within India is a huge and fastest growing market. In 2015, Indians took over a billion trips within India. TTF concentrates on this market,” said Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd (organiser of TTF and Publisher of Travel News Digest).

TTF is organised in nine major cities annually viz Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmed-abad, Hyderabad, Surat, and Pune.

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and major travel trade organisations like Indian Associa-tion of Tour Operators (IATO), Association of Domes-tic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), IATA Agents Associa-

tion of India (IAAI), SKAL International, Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA), South India Hotels & Restaurants Association (SIHRA) lend its support to the event.

“TTF is India’s largest and most influential travel trade show network that the travel and tourism indus-try looks forward to each year. Given the rapidly growing Indian tourism market, the platform has been attract-ing immense interest from across the industry as it pro-vides a solid platform for the stakeholders to interact directly with travel trade, corporate as well as general tourists. Going forward, we hope for larger participa-tion from Delhi government on a scale commensurate with its tourism potential,” added Agarwal.

TTF Awards for Excellence was presented on the last day. China, partner country at TTF walked away with ‘Best Print Promotional Material’ award.

The ‘Group Participation Award’ was bagged by

Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Andaman & Nicobar Tour-ism and SIHRA. The ‘Most Promising New Destina-tion’ award was given to Uttarakhand Tourism Devel-opment Board for promoting Chaainsheel; Jharkhand Tourism for promoting Amadubi; Regency Worldwide for promoting Russia; and Odisha Tourism for promot-ing Similipal.

Among the other awardees were Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation, India Tour-ism and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd, who were awarded with the ‘Best Decorated Pavilion’ awards.

“TTF is the only domestic focused travel show not only in Delhi, but in other major cities in India. It plays a key role for the states and the private stakeholders and for the industry as a whole to meet at one place and promote their destinations,” said Manmohan Sadana, Regional Director (North), India Tourism Delhi.

Of the three days of the event, first half of the show was reserved for the travel trade, after which it was open to public. Entry to the show was free and there was a sur-prise gift for every family visiting the show during the public hours.

Delhi Tourism minister, Kapil mishra inaugurates TTF at IG stadiumHeads of Travel Trade Associations suggested strategies to promote tourism in Delhi

TTF provides good business opportunities to the partic-ipants and visitors. It’s vital to have such informative and fruitful exhibitions in order to bring more aware-ness for everyone involved in this line of work. Apart

from that, it also helps in bringing the gov-ernment and trade professionals together to discuss the issues pertaining to the tourism fraternity.

KaPIL mIshraTourism Minister

Government of NCT, Delhi


TTF 2017 has come up in a big and attractive way focusing on promotion of domestic tourism and responsible tourism. As far as India is concerned, domes-tic tourism is the spinal cord on which the entire tourism structure is built. TTF is the ideal platform for buyers and sellers to meet and discuss business. The exhibition dur-ing the past couple of years has been doing quite well.

maNmOhaN saDaNaRegional Director- North

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

TTF is a wonderful show which we have seen in its yearly editions. Having more than 150 exhibitors and 27 states participate proves that people are really aggressive about the show. It has given them a good platform to showcase their states and also the international tourism bodies that have par-ticipated. I really wish that this exhibition grows stronger in its future editions.

P P KhaNNaPresident

Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India

I am very pleased to see large level of participation from the small companies. TTF gives a voice to small travel agents to leverage the gap between the tourism industries of tier II towns in comparison with metro cities. It has given a plat-form to small agents to sell their products and to create busi-ness opportunities for buyers from Delhi. I hope the show con-tinues to expand.

caPT. sWaDEsh KumarPresident

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India

The flow and the management system of this show have been very professional. If this kind of growth is seen year on year, then we are going to witness even bigger wonders in TTF shows. This exhibition brings people under one roof, giv-ing the trade an opportunity to do business. This kind of net-working will bring together positive results for the exhibitors and the buyers.

PraVEEN chuGhPresident

Travel Agents Federation of India

CNTO has been collaborating with TTF for a long time and we are very pleased to be a part of the exhibition in 2017 as well. These shows appropriately communicate our tourist offerings to the Indian mar-ket. Through this exhibition, we also get a platform to strengthen our bond with the Indian travel trade profes-sionals. Through this collaboration, we hope that there

will be more Indian tourists visiting China. TIaN XIN

DirectorChina National Tourist Office- New Delhi

TTF is a very successful show; they have been doing a great job for the last 27 years. The organisers have put in a great amount of effort by getting all the associations and tourism bodies together. I hope that thousands of tour operators and visitors multiply with the show in the future editions.

suBhash GOYaL Chairman

STIC Travel Group

I would like to compliment TTF team for organising such a grand show. It’s a good opportunity to interact with B2B and B2C participants. It has given an opportunity for people to be educated and well informed about the new tourism offer-ings. I believe that this show will grow further and multiply in a big way in the years to come.

PrONaB sarKarPresident

Indian Association of Tour Operators

TTF New Delhi garners support from tourism leaders for contribution to the domestic market


To be successful in the tourism industry, one must have a good networking platform and TTF happens to be one of them. Through TTF, we get an opportunity to show our new developments, initiatives and destinations. The buyers are serious and even the consumers are always keen to explore more. We have seen TTF upgrading itself with each passing year and we hope they keep growing.

sOmaN s PaThYLiaison Officer

Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd

We have been participating in TTF exhibi-tion for the past five years because we get an excellent response from this show. We receive positive footfall from international buyers and domestic travel agents in this exhibition. The exhibition like its previous editions has been organised very well and we are thankful to the team for its never ending support.

maNIsh GarGAssistant Manager- Sales

Ethiopian Airlines

We commenced our participation in TTF exhi-bitions from the year 2016 because of its spectacular response. We got a good response from travel agents com-ing to this exhibition. Our overall experience has been pos-itive in Kolkata, Ahmedabad and this year in Delhi. TTF has chosen the right venue along with adequate promotions to promote the sellers and attract buyers.

NITIN KumarManager-Travel Sales RAC

Avis India

Our association has a strong presence of travel professionals from the southern region of India exhibit-ing in this show. We participate in TTF fairs because we get really good business. The quality of buyers and trade visi-tors is always afresh. We are thankful to be provided with such a great platform to communicate our tourist offer-ings to various buyers.

JOsE PraDEEP Executive Committee Member

South India Hotels and Restaurants Association

We consider TTF to be one of the best places to promote our destination. Due to our higher expectations from the domestic market, we have been participating in TTF for past five years now. Andaman has turned into a popular destination for travellers and a perfect spot for honeymooners and MICE. This show is the best way to con-nect to our potential audience and display all our products.

saNTOsh KumarManaging Director

Andaman Beach Travels

We have been participating in TTF exhibitions for the last two years. This is undoubtedly the best plat-form where travellers can network, form associations and exchange more business opportunities. The qual-ity of trade visitors has also been very good; they intend to be serious about working with us and that’s the rea-son we look forward to this show every year.

VIJaY KumarDirector

Savi Hotels & Resorts

We have been able to build some wonderful rela-tionships at TTF, through which we can look at long term business associations. We see a lot of seriousness among visitors and buyers coming to TTF exhibition. I would like to thank the organisers for giving us such a great platform to promote responsible tourism, which is not generally consid-ered in other trade events.

GauraV BhaN BhaTNaGar Director

The Folk Tales


awards for Excellence presented to TTF New Delhi participants

volume vi issue 9 pages 32 50 / us ......volume vi l issue 9 pages 32 `50 / us $5 16-31 march 2017...

Documents