NEW DEHLI: Indian Tourism minister Alphons announced that ITM will be an annual event hereafter in line with other international tourism marts and it will be held in the month of September
The Union minister for railways and coal, Piyush Goyal last month inaugurated the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018) in the presence of Union tourism minister, K J Alphons and the tourism minister of Morocco, Mohamed Sajid, in New Delhi. The India Tourism Mart was organised by the ministry of tourism (MoT) in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and with support of state /UT Governments.
Inaugurating the event, Goyal wished the best to the tourism ministry to reach the ambitious goal of US$ 100 billion FTA receipts/year within five years. The minister said that unless the infrastructure /fundamentals are set up, India can’t come up as a well sought after destination and he said that the present government has been developing these like ensuring 24 hour power supply, promoting renewable energy forms, and improving connectivity by effectively connecting the remotest destinations.
He also added that the most important element that will help promote tourism in a complete way is the Government’s cleanliness drive, the Swachhta Abhiyan, which will ensure India becoming a preferred destination for all international tourists. Mentioning the income multiplier effect in the tourism sector, the minister said that tourism generates a number of employment opportunities in formal and informal sectors and can change the destiny of the country. Goyal added that the youth of the country can be entrepreneurs, service providers, interpreters etc in the sector and ascertained that India with its varied features has tremendous potential and we just need to leverage from it.
Speaking at the event, Alphons announced that ITM will be an annual event hereafter in line with other international tourism marts and it will be held in the month of September. The minister said that India is so vast that there will be something new for everyone to see and experience in this country with its varied geography, culture, traditions, architectural marvels, religions. Alphons also added that visiting the country has become easier with the new e-visa regime which is now open to 166 countries.
ITM was held for the first time and the tourism industry stakeholders came together for such a large scale event with the ministry’s support. This was a Business to Business event. The objective of the event was to create an annual global tourism mart for India in line with major international travel marts being held in countries across the world. The Mart provided a platform for all stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industries to interact and transact business opportunities.
