A three-day travel and tourism fair in the city will help revive the tourism sector in disaster-struck Uttarakhand, famous for the Hindu shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath, organisers said Thursday.
The Travel and Tourism Fair, that begins Friday, will provide a platform for private tour operators from Uttarakhand to reach out directly to hoteliers and the travel industry representatives in the country.
"We are providing them stalls at a heavily subsidised rate so that the few who are here can showcase their potential despite the floods and landslides. Not all of them could participate. It will give them a chance to bounce back," G. Ibrahim, joint managing director of Fairfest Media Ltd., organisers of the fair, told IANS.
Harnessing the "latest trend" of B2B meets that boost networking and business interactions between exhibitors and the travel industry, the fair will be open to both the people engaged in the travel business and the general public. The representatives of nine countries will come together under one roof at the fair.
"There will be representatives from Turkey, Finland, Bangladesh and other countries. We are also focusing on the outbound sector," said Ibrahim.
Ibrahim expects that in the wake of the falling rupee, domestic tourism will receive a huge boost from such tourism events.
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According to an Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) statement, because of the depreciating rupee, India has become an attractive destination, especially for inbound customers.
The depreciating rupee has given an unprecedented focus to domestic travel, India re-emerging as a viable option.
For future trends, Ibrahim says niche tourism like medical, adventure and heritage tourism will be in focus.