Incredible India Travel Bazar 28.05.2014

http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/first-incredible-india-travel-bazaar-evokes-mixed-response-23691 First Incredible India Travel Bazaar evokes mixed response By TBM Staff | New Delhi

The first edition of Incredible India Travel Bazaar (IITB) organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), in association with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (MoT) and India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), at The Ashok Hotel Delhi on April 8 and 9, evoked mixed response from both, international buyers and Indian sellers. Claimed as a continuation of the Great India Travel Bazaar (GITB) that FICCI used to host in Jaipur in partnership with Rajasthan Tourism till last year, IITB, the annual inbound travel B2B meet, failed to enthuse small and medium sellers as well as international buyers. FICCI claimed to have around 250 international hosted buyers drawn from 54 countries at the two-day B2B meet. There was equal number of Indian sellers which included leading inbound operators, state tourism boards, stand-alone and group hotels, etc. Although Delhi was more “logistically convenient” compared to Jaipur, as FICCI claimed, the small and medium companies who participated in the show were not enthused by the response received at the show. “Most of the international buyers we met were already having their tie ups with bigger players and consolidators in India. Most of the meetings didn’t last too long and were meetings just for the sake,” said Business Development Manager of a leading tour company from Kerala. The same sentiment was shared by many small companies. “They could have organised it much better. The response was not good,” said a Delhi-based inbound operator who got his space on the third floor banquet hall. A Jaipur-based heritage hotel official also expressed same sentiment. “Jaipur used to be much better,” he added. The show was scattered at different places, including in the banquet hall, which became inconvenient for foreign buyers to run around to fulfill their meeting obligations. “It was so hectic,” said an Israeli buyer. “The bazaar was good. I got some fruitful business contacts here. The only issue was related to the scattered nature of the event. We could have saved time if everything was at one place,” said another international buyer. Earlier, after inaugurating the two-day event, Parvez Dewan, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, said that the Department is hopeful of achieving at least six per cent growth in inbound arrivals into India this year. Indian inbound has almost touched seven million in 2013 as per the provisional estimates by the Ministry, registering a growth of 5.5 per cent, he said. He expected the growth to continue this year. Speaking about the initiatives of the government, Dewan said that visa regime has been eased in the last one year and the results of the same will start showing in the next one year. He also spoke on the initiatives to deliver “easier and faster access” to information about the destination. Talking about IITB, Dewan said that he wanted the overseas buyers to “go back” as ambassadors of Indian tourism, and also with the “conviction” that India is a 365-day destination. Dr Jyotsna Suri, Senior Vice President, FICCI in her speech said that irrespective of the change in name and the venue, IITB would remain same in its concept, fervour and flavour as its predecessor, GITB which the Federation used to organise in Jaipur.  A knowledge paper – ‘India Inbound: The Kaleidoscopic Canvas’ commissioned by FICCI was released on the occasion.