Taking the advantage of organizing first edition of India Tourism Mart (ITM) and feedback received from the industry, the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality in Association (FAITH) has announced that the second edition will be bigger and better in many ways. Probably first-of-its-kind, the industry led event, supported by Ministry of Tourism – ITM is all set to take place in New Delhi on September 23 to 25, 2019.
The previous edition of the mart was attended by 244 buyers from 62 countries, whereas this year the number is expected to rise to 300 buyers from 70 countries.
While releasing the event schedule in New Delhi Nakul Anand, Chairman FAITH said with substantives improvement in the tourism related infrastructure, India is becoming an important travel destination. It has far more to offer than many countries of the World, and looking to receive 20 million tourists in next five years. The big growth of tourism lies in intra-regional traffic can be catalyst in achieving this ambitious target.
“We as an industry and jointly with the government have begun to realize that any country that has been very successful in tourism has got most of its tourist from within the region, and that is exactly our focus now,” says Anand.
He further explained, “The days of long haul are not as important as it used to be. Our number one countries no longer going to be U. S., U K. and Germany etc. but it will come somewhere from our region only. And the more intra-regional tourism that we can generate, understand and marketing in these places, will have remarkable growth of tourism.”
He informed that the overall intra-regional tourism in East Asia is estimated to be around USD 300 million. If we can focus on this and attract even ten percent of it we can add USD 20-30 million to our Foreign Exchange Earnings.
Speaking on the occasion, Suman Billa, Joint Secretary Tourism said that ministry is expecting huge participation from various states tourism boards, as it is a huge opportunity to showcase their products to the buyers.
General Secretary FAITH & Chairman ITM, Subhash Goyal informed that the Organizing Committee has already received 829 applications as of today, out of which 199 potential buyers have been selected for the event. “The selection process is going on as the 310 applications are pending for the examination, so the exact number of buyer will be announced in next few days that may go up to 300 hosted buyers,” he added.
According to him, the Mart will be a catalyst in enabling India to take a leap forward and getting closer to the goal of receiving 20 million tourists in next five years.
The Mart will provide an opportunity to the buyers and sellers to interact, exchange information and share experiences with different disciplines of the tourism industry and state with the aim of strengthening the brand positioning of incredible India.
There are 11 post event FAM trips for the delegates to explore various parts of the country. The Golden Temple in Amritsar, Gods Own Country – Kerala and Laddakh is getting huge attention from the delegates. While Ministry of Tourism is offering air tickets to the buyers, the hotel and tourism industry is availing accommodation and FAM trips. The buyers can register themselves on www.indiatourismmart.com
