OTM Mumbai Concludes Successfully

OTM Mumbai – And it’s a Wrap…the Stars of the Travel Industry Walk the Ramp

by Suman Gupta

The most awaited travel trade show in India, OTM Mumbai concluded recently at Mumbai. The Guest of Honour for the Valedictory and Awards Programme was the Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism India, Mr Yogendra Tripathi.

Mr Sanjiv Agarwal thanked the 1,000+ exhibitors from 60 countries and destinations, and the 30,000 plus buyers that came to the show over the 3 days. OTM was the culmination of over a dozen travel trade shows held across the length and breadth of India. OTM has witnessed a growth rate of 20% and a 50% increase in entrees despite the perceived economic slow-down.

Mr Yogendra Tripathi, addressed the attendees for their positive and encouraging response. He cited OTM as an important platform to engage, discuss and reinforce ideas. He lauded tourism as an important sector contributing to impetus and growth in the economy through employment generation and GDP among other factors. He quoted the cumulative arrivals in India have gone up by 8% while the ease in e-visas has contributed to a 20% growth. He also repeated the Prime Minister’s plea for all Indians to visit 15 destinations from now until 2022.

The categories for awards ranged from group participation, B2B online travel, cruise, airline, travel technology, destination management company, best pavilion, exotic destination to eco themes. The major winners were the premium destination partners like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Greece, Malaysia among others.

About Fairfest Media, India : Since 1989, Fairfest organises industry-leading trade shows in the travel and city development space in India. With headquarters in Kolkata and Mumbai and additional offices in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Fairfest’s staff covers all the business, travel and innovation hubs of India with Mr Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman and CEO, Fairfest Media Limited.

About Outbound Marketing, India : Outbound Marketing, setup in 2002, provides solutions to hotel companies and tourism destinations through full time sales and marketing representation and projects undertaken. Outbound Marketing works with connect worldwide, a global sales and marketing agency, as its Indian affiliate.