The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in association with the North Eastern states and West Bengal, is organising International Tourism Mart in Imphal, Manipur from November 23-25, 2016. The event will be held in the City Convention Centre, Sanjenthong, Imphal, Manipur and will be inaugurated on November 24 by Okram Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur in the presence of Union Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi and other dignitaries from North Eastern states.
This is the fifth International Tourism Mart and an annual event organised in the North Eastern region with the objective of highlighting the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets. It brings together the tourism business fraternity and entrepreneurs from the eight North Eastern states and West Bengal. The event has been planned and scheduled to facilitate interaction between buyers, sellers, media, government agencies and other stakeholders.
Buyer delegates from around the world and from different regions of the country are participating in the mart and will engage in one-to-one meetings with sellers from the North East region. A total of 57 buyer delegates from ASEAN, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Russia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Kenya, Oman, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom and USA are participating in the mart.
Besides the foreign delegates, 80 domestic stakeholders in tourism sector from other parts of the country including sellers from the North Eastern states and West Bengal are participating in the mart. Representatives of state tourism departments will also be present to showcase their destinations and interact with the delegates.
In addition, the three-day event also includes presentations by state governments on their tourism potential, cultural evenings, sightseeing visits to local attractions in and around Imphal and press meetings in the presence of Vinod Zutshi, secretary (tourism), Government of India.
An exhibition by state tourism departments from the North Eastern states and West Bengal is also being organised to showcase the tourism products of respective participating states.
Post-mart familiarisations to the states in the region have been arranged for the delegates from overseas as well as domestic buyers to create awareness about the tourism products of the North Eastern region and to give them a first-hand experience of the destination.
The International Tourism Marts are organised in the North Eastern States on rotation basis. The earlier editions of this mart have been held in Guwahati, Tawang, Shillong and Gangtok. The highlight of International Tourism Mart 2016 is that it is being organised during the Sangai Festival of Manipur.
Enhanced number of 35 countries covered for the 5th International Tourism Mart as against the previous marts has been considered by Government of India.
