Themed ‘Sumer Holidays – Travel the country…See the world’, the 2017 edition of India International Travel Mart was recently held at Kolkata, completing 18 years of presence. IITM, at present is being organised in key source markets of Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi and now Kolkata. IITM, in its inaugural year in Kolkata, had over 125 participants from 15 Indian states and five countries.
The event was organised in association with West Bengal Tourism and inaugurated by S B Pradhan, principal secretary (tourism), Government of West Bengal. Gujarat Tourism was the Partner State at the event, whereas, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh were the Feature States. OYO Rooms was the Platinum Hospitality Partner. Other state representations included Punjab, Kerala, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Goa etc.
Travel agents and hoteliers delegation from Jammu and Kashmir looked at tapping the West Bengal market for the coming summer season.
More than 100 hotels and resorts also participated from across India. Diverse tourism segments on display included pilgrimage travel, adventure, cultural pursuits, shopping tours, etc.
This edition witnessed over 20 per cent increase in exhibitor space and footfall of over 15,000 holiday seekers.
Rohit Hangal, director, Sphere Travel Media, said, “With the present ongoing recession, international arrivals in India have dropped and IITM provided the right impetus to the Indian domestic tourism industry. The participants from the states and union territories were seen marketing their products.”
Sanjay Hakhu, director, Sphere Travel Media, added, “India, in spite of the present business environment, is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive countries for the travel industry, both for leisure and business travel. A combination of factors is responsible for the growth and demand of travel trends from India.”
Tourism studies and trends indicate that the year 2017-18 will see more than 20 million tourists embanking on overseas travel and with the advent of low cost international airfares and other factors.