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The First Tourism Mart of India Begins With Faith

India Tourism Mart (ITM) has begun on 17th of September 2018 at New Delhi, the capital of the country. This is a unique initiative by the ministry of tourism of India. This mart spans for three days and are organized with FAITH (Federation of Association in Indian Tourism and Hospitality). The main objective of the tourism festival is to showcase the benefits of tourism, highlighting the cultural diversity and reinforcing the concept of ‘tourism for all’. The Mart attracted many hosted international buyers, personnel of media department and related fields from various parts of the world like CIS countries, Latin America, North America, Western Europe and East Asia.

ITM schedule calendar is on its way

Rashmi Verma, the tourism secretary of India mentioned to the media that the Mart is a primary game changer for tourism. He said that this mart will help the travel trade industry of the country to interact with different parts of the world. He mentioned that the Mart has 225 international buyers going through 40 meetings. This B2B communication can transform into a larger foot traffic of foreign tourists to India. According to Verma, ITM will be an annual activity from 2018. He also mentioned that it will be in line with the other tourism marts of other countries. He said that the ministry will be providing an ITM schedule calendar covering events for the next five years, shortly. The event of this year is mainly focused on providing an opportunity of the tourist to find out the tourism facilities available in the country. This includes upcoming facilities, adventure tourism possibilities, niche products, tourist destinations, airports, hotels and others. Verma ended by saying that Paryatan Parv and other previous events have helped to increase tourism in India by 18% in 2017. India Tourism Mart

Focus is on China

K KAlphons, the Union Minister of tourism said that the Mart also focuses on increasing domestic tourism. He mentioned that 1.8 billion domestic tourists were seen in 2017 and the objective is to double the number within three years. When asked about international tourist traffic, he said that every country had seen a hike in international tourism in 2017. He noted that US had 1.29 million traffic in 2016 and 1.37 million in 2017. However, he did not explicitly mention about the obvious decrease in international tourists to India in 2017. When asked about the abroad promotions, he said that road shows have been conducted in Vietnam, US, Cambodia, Europe, Australia, UK, Laos, Nordic Countries and Russia. He said that five movies spanning one minute each have been promoted in social media to create better exposure. He also reminded that the Mart is all about ‘tourism for all’. He mentioned that there is no discrimination in terms of race or sexual preference. He mentioned that every tourists is welcomed to India. When asked about the countries that are focused for inbound traffic, he mentioned that the big focus is directed towards China. China gives 44 million tourists every year and among those tourists, only 2.4 lakhs visited India. He also said that China is the only country where a PR agency has been erected for this purpose.

How to prepare India?

In terms of nature, religion, culture and heritage, India is already a gem. It is attracting numerous tourists from various parts of the country. According to Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways, the country is yet to focus more on elevated services, infrastructure and much more. He also mentioned that the cost of Deccan Odyssey and other luxury trains have been reduced considerably to encourage more tourists to enjoy the service. Plan your Deccan Odyssey train journey!! Alphons also mentioned that they have 15 thematic schemes for the pilgrims. To mention the top, Ramayana circuit, Krishna circuit, Buddhist circuit and others. He mentioned that they have set up basic infrastructure for the tourists to enjoy the destinations. Are you planning a pilgrimage vacation to India? We have various package for you. At the end, he mentioned about the Kerala floods and promised that tourism is back on its feet in Kerala. Also Read: