TBM Staff - Mumbai Special tourism revival editions of ‘India International Travel Mart’, took place at ITC Grand Chola, Chennai & Tripura Vasini, Palace Grounds, Bengaluru on 18-19 October 2021 & 22 – 23 October 2021 respectively. Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions organised the events.
The events held in Chennai & Bengaluru saw a healthy response from the travel trade fraternity and the end consumers. The Chennai edition of IITM had 100 participants from over 10 Indian states and the Bengaluru edition had 150 participants from over 20 Indian states along with international representation from Italy & Nepal.
The two-day event showcased glimpses from the travel, tourism and hospitality industries covering a variety of destinations from different spheres such as pilgrimages, adventures, culture & heritage, beaches, hills and much more. The exhibitors included Travel Agents & Tour Operators, DMC, Hotels & Resorts, National Tourist Organizations, Cruises, Airlines, Online Travel Portals etc. The time for IITM Chennai & Bengaluru was perfect for the upcoming holiday season in India.
The Chennai edition was inaugurated by Thiru Dr. M Mathiventhan, Honourable Minister for Tourism, Govt of Tamil Nadu, along with Dr. Chandra Mohan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tamil Nadu Tourism. Sandeep Nanduri, IAS, Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism, Pawan Kumar Gupta, Vice President, South India MICE Association. Thiru Kalaimamani VKT Balan, President, Tamil Nadu Tour, Travel and Hospitality Association. Seetharam Subramaniam, President, SKAL Chennai, Mr. Saravanan Palanivelu, International Skål Council.
The Bengaluru edition was inaugurated by Anand Singh, Minister for Tourism, Ecology and Environment along with. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, IAS, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka, Sindhu B Rupesh, IAS, Director, Department of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka, Manoj Kumar, IFS, Managing Director, Jungle Lodges & Resorts Ltd and Shyama Raju, President, Karnataka Tourism Society.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Hakhu, Director, Sphere TravelMedia said, “India in spite of the present business environment is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive countries for the travel trade industry both for leisure and business travel. A combination of factors is responsible for the growth and demand of travel trends from India”.
Rohit Hangal, Director, Sphere Travelmedia added, ” ‘Domestic travel as the backbone’ of India’s tourism portfolio and with an estimated 561 million domestic tourist visits. This segment is probably only second to China in terms of sheer size. With the rapid economic development taking place in the country and availability of greater disposable income combined with affordable holiday packages, tourism in India is increasing steadily and acts as a catalyst for the furthering the economic growth in view of its wide-ranging linkage effects and multiple impacts”.
