Govt and industry join forces to market India as a tourist destination

India Tourism Mart, is the first national-level B2B exercise to bring buyers from the world face-to-face with the Indian tourism industry

Almost three hundred leading tour operators from across the globe will land in the capital city next month, with flight tickets sponsored by the government and luxury hotel accommodation offered by private hoteliers like ITC and Taj, to participate in an event for which the tourism ministry and industry have come together — to market India as a destination.

The event, India Tourism Mart (ITM), is the first national-level B2B exercise to bring buyers from the world face-to-face with the Indian tourism industry. ITM will be held from September 16-18 in the capital and is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is part of efforts by the government to make a renewed attempt at selling its tourist destinations to the world, aiming to double foreign tourist arrivals to 20 million over the next three years.  

These operators are coming from important and potential source markets such as North America, West Europe, East Asia, Latin America and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.

India has had a few travel marts organised by state governments such as Kerala in the past. The idea behind ITM is to present an India-specific global tourism exercise, on the lines of major international travel marts.

The mart will provide a platform to small and big stakeholders in the tourism and the hospitality industry to connect with potential buyers from several countries. More than half of the Indian states will showcase their offerings and over 175 stalls will be used by domestic operators to display the destinations and products.

The event will also provide an opportunity to the buyers to see the tourism facilities available in the country — including airports, hotels, destinations, upcoming facilities, infrastructure for meetings and conventions, and possibilities in the area of adventure tourism, among other things. States are sponsoring familiarisation (FAM) trips to their destinations before and after the event.

Nakul Anand, chairman of FAITH, the apex body of trade and hospitality associations of the country, said large investments have been made over the years to create adequate hotel rooms, improve airports and air connectivity as well as roads, and now efforts should be made to exploit these capacities through improved foreign tourist arrivals. Anand said it could take four-five years to double the number of international visitors.

Anand, also executive director of ITC, overseeing the conglomerate’s hotel division, said the industry was pushing for a reduction in the goods and services tax rate of 28 per cent on hotel rooms with a tariff of Rs 7,500 and above per night to 18 per cent, so that it provides a fillip overall tourism.