Jaipur, May 10, 2024: The 13th edition of India’s largest B2B inbound tourism event ‘The Great Indian Travel Bazaar’ (GITB) concluded here with an ambitious pitch of India as a world’s wedding destination under ‘Wed in India’ initiative.
Along with host state Rajasthan, India’s premier tourism event saw as many as 9 state tourism boards, including Odisha (theme state), Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Punjab attracting around 250 FTOs from 52 countries and 16 international wedding planners enquiring about various wedding destinations and the offerings.
With over 300 booths in the exhibition, a large number of domestic tour operators and 60 wedding planners engaged with their foreign counterparts resulting in over 11,000 B2B meetings, business deals and ‘Coolcation’ – Ministry of Tourism’s fresh initiative striking a chord among both buyers and sellers.
On the 3rd & final day of the expo, a master class by Chef Ajay Chopra saw a large gathering of both Indian and foreign culinary connoisseurs.
Post the event, FAM tours on 3 tourism routes have been organized for both foreign and domestic tour operators and wedding planners.
India’s premier inbound tourism event was inaugurated by Ms. Manisha Saxena, IAS, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Smt. Gayatri Rathore, IAS, Principal Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, Dr. Rashmi Sharma, Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Mr. Dipak Deva, Chairperson, FICCI Tourism & Culture Committee & Managing Director, Travel Corporation of India, Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Past President, FICCI & CMD, Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and Mr. S.K. Pathak, Secretary General, FICCI.
Other industry representatives present during the inaugural of GITB2024 and ‘Wed in India’ were Mr. Chetan Vohra, Chair, FICCI Wedding Tourism Taskforce & Managing Director, Wedding Line, Mr. Kuldeep Singh Chandela, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR) and Mr. Sabbas Joesph, Past President, Event & Entertainment Management Association (EEMA).
GITB 2024 was organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, along with the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It was supported by Hotel and Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) and Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators (RATO). The focus of this year’s event was to promote India as a wedding destination.
A number of cultural events were organized to showcase India’s deep cultural heritage, including scintillating and spellbound cultural performances by folk artists of Rajasthan who enacted a number of dance acts around the wedding theme.
A ‘Wed in India’ film titled ‘Say I do In India’ and an audio-visual presentation titled ‘Romance in Rajasthan’ based on rural Rajasthan’s potential for wedding as well as honeymoon were premiered showcasing India’s enchanting destinations and architectural marvels for weddings which attracted huge applause from the audience.
GITB, a perfect example of public-private partnership has contributed immensely towards the growth of tourism sector and has become a permanent fixture in India’s travel & tourism marts. With robust infrastructure development happening across the country, including the number of airports doubled in last few years, and strong physical and digital connectivity, the tourism sector has contributed 9.2% towards GDP generating 42 million jobs.