10,000+ meetings at GITB ’17
As many as 275 foreign buyers and 288 exhibitors met at the 10th Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) from April 23-25. Over the two days, 10,800 meetings were conducted compared to 10,600 meetings in the last edition.
The Great Indian Travel Bazaar, an inbound show committed to boost tourism in India and in Rajasthan, was inaugurated by Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Krishnendra Kaur, Tourism, Art and Culture Minister, Government of Rajasthan, Dr.
Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson, Tourism Committee, FICCI,
Nihal Chand Goel, Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism, Art & Culture), Government of Rajasthan, Bhim Singh, President, Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan, and Rahul Chakravarty, Senior Director and HeadTourism, FICCI.
The dignitaries also released two reports- FICCI-YES Bank Report and FICCI-MRSS Knowledge Paper, aimed at providing a snapshot of tourism potential and growth opportunities for inbound tourism in India. Apart from Rajasthan, eight partner states namely Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Tamil Nadu also participated in the show.
“GITB is the largest and an exclusive inbound show, committed to increasing inbound tourism to India and we feel it has played a role in increasing inbound tourists from 8.03 million in 2015 to 8.9 million in 2016,” Suri noted.
Applauding the efforts behind the show, Billa said, “GITB is the most definitive platform to showcase India to the world and it has grown from strength to strength. It attracts very high quality buyers and now has reached a critical mass to truly take off.” He observed that Indian tourism industry grew at a rapid pace of 11 per cent in 2016 and since January 2017 to date it has grown at the rate of 16 per cent. He also said that that there is no indicator in the market to suggest that this growth will slow down and suggested that it is up to the buyers and exhibitors at the show to capitalise on this opportunity. Billa further cited the recently released World Economic Forum report where India improved its tourism competitiveness by 12 places since 2015, and now occupies 40th rank globally while countries like Japan, China, US, and Switzerland have improved by less than five positions.
Kaur informed that the Government of Rajasthan in its budget sanctioned
` 163.47 crore for tourism which is an increase of 22.37 per cent over last year. Kaur said, “We will use the sanctioned money to undertake aggressive marketing and promotional activities. We are also planning to develop the Krishna Circuit and Spiritual Circuit, which are to be sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism. Regional connectivity is a key focus area for us and I feel it will take time for intra-state connectivity to truly take off.”
Goel further added that Rajasthan tourism recorded 17 per cent growth in 2016 with over four crore tourists. In 2017 the state is expecting a better response both from domestic and international tourists especially after the aggressive marketing campaign which promotes Rajasthan as an unexplored destination. “Promoting the various tourism products of Rajasthan at domestic and international level; restoration and conservation of heritage properties and maintenance and upkeep of various tourist spots for smoother operations are three key focus points of the government,” said Goel.