India’s Tourism Estimates 561 M Domestic Tourist Visits in 2016: Hangal

With this year’s edition of ‘IITM’ in Bangalore, Sphere Travelmedia and Exhibitions completes seventeen years of providing the travel industry and discerning buyers from the travel – trade and corporate sector an opportunity to do business. With organizations and tourism boards from over 20 Indian states, ‘India International Travel Mart’ will showcase a variety of destinations from different spheres such as pilgrimages, adventures, culture and heritage, beaches, hills and many more.

The event will have over 400 participants from over 10 countries and over 20 Indian states. The participants include Travel agents & Tour Operators, DMC, Hotels & Resorts, National Tourist Organizations, Cruises, Airlines, Online Travel Portals etc.

Some of the International participants who are participating this year include Tourism Authority of Thailand and delegation, Sri Lanka Tourism and delegation, Tourism Malaysia, New Zealand, representation from Maldives, Dubai, Nepal and many more

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Hakhu, Director, Sphere TravelMedia said, “India in spite of the present business environment is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive countries for the travel trade industry both for leisure and business travel. A combination of factors is responsible for the growth and demand of travel trends from India. The visitor profile is on a B2B and B2C format like and will have over 15,000 buyers over three days”.

Tourism Studies and Trends indicate that the year 2016 – 17 will see more than 20 million Indian tourists embanking on overseas travel and with the advent of low cost international airfares, holiday packages that are available on monthly instalments payable over a period of time, International Travel is no longer a luxury.

Highlights:

·        Karnataka is the Host State for IITM Bangalore

·         This year Sri Lanka and Thailand are the Partner Countries

·        Malaysia, Dubai and New Zealand are the Feature Countries for the event. Other countries participating include Maldives, Sharjah, UK, Nepal and others.

·        International delegations from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Dubai.

·        Some of the States and Union Territories being represented include Gujarat, Maharashtra,  Goa,  Daman and Diu, Madhya Pradesh,  Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Odisha, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Lakshadweep Islands, etc

·        More than 200 hotels and resorts are participating from all over India, making it one of the most diverse range of hospitality products in the country on display.

·        Diverse Tourism segments on display such as Pilgrimage Travel, Adventure, Cultural pursuits, shopping tours, MICE etc.

·        Sri Lanka Tourism to launch special Ramayana Circuits in Sri Lanka targeting the Indian market.

·        Special discounts on spot bookings for over 1000 holiday destinations.

The 'India International Travel Mart' provides an ideal 'marketing opportunity' and 'excellent backdrop' to enhance the participant's 'brand-equity' in the eyes of the discerning end consumer and the travel-trade.

Boost for Domestic Tourism:

The event showcases virtually travel and hospitality products from every part of the country, making it one of the biggest congregation of travel-trade in the country. The event provides unmatched networking opportunities to interact with Travel-trade and corporate buyers alike.

Rohit Hangal, Director, Sphere Travelmedia added “domestic travel as the “backbone” of India’s tourism portfolio and with an estimated 561 million domestic tourist visits, this segment is probably the only second to China in terms of sheer size. With the rapid economic development taking place in the country and availability of greater disposable income combined with affordable holiday packages, tourism in India is increasing steadily and acts as a catalyst for the furthering the economic growth in view of its wide ranging linkage effects and multiple impacts. The participants from the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and many more destinations will be seen aggressively marketing their products will be there with their travel and tourism stakeholders”.