The 10th edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) 2018 will be held in Jaipur from April 22 to April 24. While the inaugural session will be held at Hotel Lalit on April 22nd, the pre-structured meetings and exhibition will be held on April 23rd and 24th at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Center (JECC) in Sitapura. This was informed by additional chief secretary, Tourism, Art & Culture, Government of Rajasthan, Dr Subodh Agarwal.
Dr Agarwal further said that on the occasion, chief minister of Rajasthan, Ms Vasundhara Raje shall grace the inaugural session as Chief Guest. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, Government of India, Mr K.J. Alphons will inaugurate the exhibition on April 23rd.
“Over the years GITB has emerged as one of the most important travel marts for inbound tourism. The two-day event will see fruitful networking giving a further boost to the travel trade business in the State,” he added.
FICCI past president and chairperson FICCI Tourism Committee, Dr Jyotsana Suri said, “In a span of 10 years, GITB has gone from strength to strength and is now a force to reckon with in the inbound tourism marts.” This year there will be around 11,000 B2B structured pre-fixed meetings between buyers and sellers over two days. As many as 280 leading inbound foreign tour operators (FTO) from around 55 countries are participating as foreign buyers. Similarly, 270 Indian sellers – among whom are tour operators, hotels and State Governments, spread across 298 booths – will also be participating in the bazaar.
Dr Suri further added that a special feature of GITB this year will be the release of two reports – FICCI-MRSS Study on ‘Rajasthan – A True Land of Culture and Heritage’ and FICCI-Yes Bank Study on ‘India Inbound Tourism: Decoding Strategies for Next Stage of Growth’. The reports will be released during the inaugural session. GITB has reinforced India as a world-class tourism destination with an exclusive focus on inbound tourism.
Apart from Host State – Rajasthan, Tourism Departments of nine States will be participating which include Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Goa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The buyers will also undertake a post-event FAM tour organised by the Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators (RATO) that will cover the tourism destinations of Rajasthan. A special showcasing of the luxury train ‘Heritage Palace on Wheels’ for the FTOs will be organised. 70 FTOs will be taken from New Delhi to Jaipur on April 22. Similarly, an interaction between Rajasthan Tourism and 280 FTOs, showcasing the luxury train will take place on April 23 at the Durgapura Station, Jaipur.
It is to be noted that the GITB is being organised by Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan; Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It is supported by leading national and regional associations like Hotel & Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) and RATO.