2020 to focus on adventure
Having witnessed a record number of attendees this year, India International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (IITT) will focus on adventure in its next edition with a special pavilion showcasing major world attractions.
With more than 300 booths, 500 exhibitors and 25 countries, the sixth edition of the three-day India International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (IITT) held in Mumbai’s MMRDA Grounds closed on a successful note. This has prompted the organisers to plan for the next edition on a bigger scale. Mohit Mewani, Exhibition Director, ABEC Exhibitions & Conferences, says, “We will focus on adventure tourism in a big way next year. We are also looking to grow the attractions section. For this, we will create a huge pavilion that will have activities and attractions from various countries. We plan to dedicate about 800-1,000 sqm of space to this with a minimum of 70-80 attractions from across the world.” Speaking about this year, he said that there were new entrants to IITT such as Bhutan. “Apart from that, we have Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka and a lot of participants from Maldives as well. In terms of exhibitors, we have grown by almost 20 per cent. However, this year Cox & Kings has come in a big way with almost 1,000 sqm of space which has never been seen in the exhibition industry ever before. Cox & Kings has created an experiential zone which includes French cafes and self-drive in NSW and a lot more,” Mewani adds. This goes on to show that IITT has a lot to offer, apart from normal booths. “We help the exhibitors conceptualise their booths in innovative ways so that they can stand out. Our main anchor booth which includes the top 20-25 clients – we personally go to them to try and understand what they want to do this year and what we as a show are focussing on – understand their buyer buyers to match our exhibitor requirements,” he says. The team at IITT wants the show to be the biggest and the largest in the country in going to ensure that we give everybody the basic – ROTI – Return On Time and money Invested. We want to make sure that every exhibitor who the show is fruitful for them in terms of not only the money but also the time they invest in,” Mewani emphasises. two days received around 15,000 odd visitors. On the third day—open to B2C—the show saw about an equal number of attendees as IITT had done a lot of B2C marketing as well this year. On the sidelines of the show were many interactive sessions which included the conference discussions with industry experts talking on key topics such as MiCE, cruise tourism, weddings and technology. Besides, it also had workshops conducted by Fiji Tourism, Bhutan Tourism, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Akquasun, Ark and Star Cruises. Mewani says, “I would like to extend my special thanks to our key sponsors which includes Cox & Kings, Akquasun, Star Cruises, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.” Over 500 exhibitors from more than 25 countries showcased their products and services. Day one saw an expert panel discussion on developing new - ism with travel specialists while the second day had many more business sessions focusing on diverse topics such as cruise tourism, outbound MiCE and data privacy.
We have Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka and a lot of participants from Maldives as new entrants to IITT In terms of exhibitors; we have grown by almost 20%