Karnataka Tourism Forum comes to Delhi
The one-day roadshow organised by Karnataka Tourism Forum (KTF) this June that marked its Mumbai debut saw overwhelming response from the travel trade from all over Maharashtra. Its next stop will be New Delhi this year but the exact date has not been fin
Titled 'Destination Karnataka', the show saw 40 sellers participating from all over Karnataka. Speaking on the sidelines of the show, CB Ramkumar, President, Karnataka Tourism Forum, said, “Frankly, we are quite overwhelmed by the response Maharashtra is showing us. We registered more than 320 buyers in one day, of which about 200 visited us in the first half. ”
He added that while a majority of buyers are from Mumbai, a lot of them are from Nasik, Pune and even Nagpur. “We want to promote products that are unique to Karnataka and KTF has encouraged participants from Mysore, Chikamagalur and Coorg homestays to participate. KTF was set up to promote Karnataka by a group of individuals who have a stake in travel industry and all work is voluntary. We try to do at least four shows a year,” Ramkumar said.
Karnataka is coming up as a popular destination with inbound visitors, especially places like Hampi, Hassan, Halebeedu, Coorg, and Kabini. KTF conducted similar roadshows in Gujarat, Chennai and Pune.
One of the buyers from Pune, Bindu Dhanraj, Director for Unicorn Holidays & Travel, who had come to Mumbai for a day to attend the show, said, “Travelling from Pune to Mumbai for the KTF roadshow was well worth the effort as it was an excellent opportunity to interact with hotels, resorts and service providers in Karnataka on a single platform. I request them to have such a roadshow in Pune the next time with a lot more service providers.” Dhanraj focuses on inbound clients and specialises in Kerala and Rajasthan. The products present at the show ranged from boutique hotels, resorts, ground transport and experiential hotels to home- stays, spa and wellness centres, and even amusement parks.