Over 15,000 discerning trade visitors attend 78th Edition of India International Travel Mart Gurgao

GURGAON, India - Sept. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- ‘Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions’ organized its 78^th edition of 'India International Travel Mart' from 5 – 7 September at Gurgaon.

With this year’s edition of ‘IITM’ in Gurgaon, Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions completed fifteen 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 5 countries and over 15 Indian states, ‘India International Travel Mart’ showcased a variety of destinations from different spheres such as pilgrimages, adventures, culture & heritage, beaches, hills, luxury travel and many more. The participants included Travel agents & Tour Operators, DMC, Hotels & Resorts, National Tourist Organizations, Cruises, Airlines, Online Travel Portals etc.

KEY PARTICIPANTS:

·         Participating Countries:        China, Mauritius, Sri Lanka

·         Host State:          Haryana Tourism

·         Partner State:          West Bengal & Gujarat

·         Feature States:          Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh

·         Focus States:          Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Tripura

·         Hospitality Partner          Ramada Gurgaon Central

·         Associate Hotel Partner        Oyo Hotels

HIGHLIGHTS

·         This year ‘India International Travel Mart’ witnessed several new products in the Hospitality and Travel sphere being unveiled.

·         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: Domestic Travel being India’s biggest travel segment, this year shall see participants from over 15 different tourism specialties.

·         The events are supported by major associations such as ‘Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India’, ‘Indian Association of Tour Operators’ and Outbound Tour Operators Association of India’, etc

·         Entry is Free

Speaking on the event, Mr. 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 & B2C format like and will have over 15,000 visitors over three days”.

Tourism Studies and Trends indicate that the year 2014 - 15 will see more than 18million tourists embanking on overseas travel. With the advent of low cost international airfares, holiday packages that are available on monthly instalments are payable over a period of time, and thus International Travel is no longer a luxury.

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.

Mr. Rohit Hangal, Director, Sphere Travelmedia added “India is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world. International tourism departures from India, have grown from 3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 million in 2007 and to 14 million in 2011, and are further expected to grow over 18 million by 2015. International tourism expenditures have increased from US$ 1.3 billion in 1997 to US$ 8.2 billion in 2008 and are expected to touch USD 15 Billion by 2015. With more than 1.1 billion inhabitants and GDP increasing by more than 8% every year, the country offers enormous potential for future growth in outbound travel”.

Rohit Hangal also added “With the present ongoing recession, International Arrivals in India has dropped and India International Travel Mart provides the right impetus to the Indian domestic tourism industry. With a base of over 200 million discerning domestic travel seekers, it is a yearlong market, no hospitality and travel organization can ignore”.

About ‘Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions’:  Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd.,’ is India's leading Travelmedia Company. Sphere has established brands for the Indian travel and tourism industry such as ‘India International Travel Mart’ – India's premier Travel and Tourism Exhibition and ‘Outbound Travel Roadshow’ – India's only Multi – Destination Buyer – Seller Meet & ‘Business Travel & Meetings Expo’ – The Corporate Travel, Incentive and Conference Exhibition’.

AboutIndia International Travel Mart: IITM - India's premier Exhibition that showcases variant colors of travel, tourism, hospitality, leisure and other related industries. It is aimed at bringing the Industry, face-to-face with the travel trade, Corporate Buyer and the end-customer with the requisite purchasing power. ‘India International Travel Mart’,isIndia’s premier travel and tourism Exhibition brand. IITM was established in 1998 by ‘Sphere Travelmedia & Exhibitions’ and is held at the country’s major markets of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurgaon, Cochin, and now also in Kolkata.