75 FTOs at UPTM’s maiden show

The first edition of the Mart will witness participation of 75 foreign tour operators (FTOs), who will meet 80-100 leading sellers of wildlife, heritage and Buddhist tourism in Uttar Pradesh.

In a bid to boost tourism in Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart (UPTM) will be held in Lucknow from February 22-24, 2015. The maiden edition of UPTM is being organised by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). O P Singh, Minister of Tourism, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh had formally launched the Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart 2015 on November 15, 2014 at Delhi.

Foreseeing the power of tourism and hospitality in employment-generation, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and giving a boost to economic growth, the Mart has been envisioned as a three-day travel mart. The Mart will exclusively focus on business of tourism for all stakeholders of tourism industry in the state to promote tourism in a substantial way.

According to Rahul Chakravarty, Director, FICCI, the first edition of the Mart will witness participation of 75 foreign tour operators (FTOs), who will meet 80-100 leading sellers of wildlife, heritage and Buddhist tourism in Uttar Pradesh. Both top-of-the-line buyers and sellers will be handpicked by FICCI after validation of their creden- tials, and will be hosted by the state government.

The USP of UPTM is to build a platform where both the buyers and sellers network over pre-scheduled, structured, organised B2B meetings and onsite marketing of target destinations in Uttar Pradesh through FAM trips, he added. There will be an exclusive focus to highlight and promote the heritage arc covering three