More than 900 exhibitors from 30 countries showcase their goods toone of the biggest growing travel markest in the world
(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - February 7th, 2013 -
OTM, India’s Leading Travel Trade Show opens at Bombay Exhibition Centre
§ Over 900 participants from 26 countries
§ Annual meeting point for the global travel trade in Mumbai – India’s biggest travel market
Mumbai, 8th February 2013: India’s biggest international travel trade show, OTM opened at the Bombay Exhibition Centre on Friday.
Spread out over 200,000 square feet (approximately 20,000 square metres) and gathering more than 900 exhibitors from 26 countries and all over India, OTM Mumbai has a larger exhibiting space and number of participants than any other travel show in India.
Mumbai is the largest travel market in the country, generating one-third (33%) of all India-outbound travellers, followed by Delhi, which generates about one-fourth (26%).
The largest international participation is from Sri Lanka, Turkey, China and Thailand – the Partner Countries of the OTM 2013 – with large international presence also from Canada, Philippines, Maldives, Egypt, Macau, Indonesia, Nepal and Russia, which – the Feature Countries at the OTM.
Okinawa, a Prefecture in the southernmost part of Japan, is this year’s Focus Destination.
Other international participants are from Bhutan, Canada, China, Dubai, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Maldives, Mexico, Nepal, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, USA and many more.
Bahrain, West Australia and Zambia are represented for the first time in OTM.
As a major attraction this year, OTM Mumbai will showcase the leading brands of the global cruising industry in its Cruise Hub. The cruise lines being represented in the hub are: Star Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), MSC Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruises, Windstar Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and Costa Cruises.
Partner States Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat and Odisha lead the participation in the domestic segment at OTM this year.
Karnataka and Punjab are also participating enthusiastically as Feature States. Maharashtra Tourism has a large pavillion. Hundreds of hotels and other travel service providers have joined in the state pavillions.
Other states represented in the fair with large pavillions include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
While all the countries and states do generic destination promotion, the private sector organisations strike deals, and transact the actual buying and selling of tour packages, hotel rooms and transportation, with the travel trade, business travellers, MICE sector, groups and FITs.
India is a coveted outbound market, with 12 million Indians travelling overseas annually and a projected growth of 12-13% per year till 2015. This is reflected in participation from over 30 countries.
The domestic sector, another huge potential market, is the backbone of the Indian tourism industry and has a huge presence at the event. Almost all states are taking part.
Travel and tourism is a key driver of economic growth globally. The outlook for Asian outbound tourism next year is overwhelmingly positive thanks to continued good prospects for the region’s economy.
“Despite the economic growth slowing down, the tourism sector is likely to show robust sentiments,” said Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO of Fairfest Media Ltd, who has been organising travel shows across the country for 20 years.
The IMF has also predicted healthy growth for India and Southeast Asian countries. Prospects for Asian tourism in 2013 are even stronger. Only one-third (32%) of Asians say the financial crisis will impact their travel planning, while two-thirds (68%) say they will not be affected.
The travel and tourism sector currently employs 49 million people, or 1 in every 10 jobs, and this is projected to increase to 58 million, or 1 in every 9.6 jobs by 2020.
The importance of the tourism sector in India and the positive industry sentiments are reflected in the increase in the number of participants at OTM Mumbai compared to last year, while other leading travel shows in Europe are shrinking. This also is an indicator of the shift in global economic centre of gravity from the West to the East.
The streets of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are filled with Indian tourists and increasing numbers of Indian tourists are travelling to Australasia, Europe and the Americas.
International and domestic destinations are making aggressive pitches to Indian tourists with attractive displays of their culture, nature, adventure, cuisine, history, antiquities, shopping, events, etc.
Many participating destinations will be organising seminars and cultural presentations.
Entry on the first two days of the show is reserved for the travel trade, with the final day (Sunday) open for all. Thousands of visitors from the travel trade have registered to visit the show on the first two days. An equally large number of business, leisure and holiday travellers will visit the show on the last day (Sunday).
OTM is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, as well as travel industry bodies including Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO).
TravTalk and Travel News Digest – two leading travel trade publications – are the Official Trade Publications of OTM. Bloomberg TV is the Official TV Partner.
For the next three days, OTM in Mumbai will serve as the nerve centre of the travel business in India, and is expected to outdo last year in terms of footfall. OTM Mumbai 2012 saw over 13,000 visitors in three days, including 7,000 trade visitors. The steady growth in participation at OTM in recent years is an indication of the benchmark it has already set in terms of business volumes and visits.
According to a market survey conducted by the organisers of OTM, Mumbai is not only the leading travel market in the country, but its tourists are also the highest-spenders and their trips are also the longest.
On average, a Mumbaikar’s individual budget and length of stay for a foreign trip is about Rs. 92,000 for 11 days and domestic holiday is about Rs. 23,500 for 9 days. For Delhi, the second-largest travel market, the corresponding figures are Rs. 63,000 for 8 days and Rs. 16,500 for 6 days, for foreign and domestic trips respectively.
Next weekend (14-16 Feb), OTM New Delhi will be hosted at the Pragati Maidan. The size of the Delhi show will be about half of the OTM Mumbai.
OTM is organised by Fairfest Media, a leading travel trade show organiser. Apart from Mumbai and Delhi, Fairfest organises travel shows branded as TTF, in eight other cities. To cater for the strong Diwali holiday season, TTF 2013 is scheduled to be held again in Mumbai from August 30 to September 1 later this year.
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