New Indian travel mart announced for '04

At a press conference held at Dubai's Arabian Travel Mart, the show was announced by organisers, Kinex Log of the UK, working with strategic partners, the Indian Express Group (IEG). IEG are leading publishers in the financial, business and tourism sectors in India.

Also attending the WTI press conference was Mrs Reshmi Verma, Additional Director General of the Government of India Tourist Office. She said that 'tourism is a fast growing sector & we have witnessed a five fold growth since the Ninth Five Year plan. This year began with a very positive note. In February we witnessed a 15.3% growth in international arrivals' Whilst the conflict in the region had an impact on tourism, according to Ms Verma, India bounced back by the end of April with annual growth equivalent to 8.5%.

WTI will be staged in Mumbai's fast developing business district at the Bandra Kurla Exhibition Complex. The event will include an exhibition, conference and awards ceremony within a specially constructed fully air conditioned luxury structure, in close proximity to the soon to open Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Dina MacDonald, Managing Director of Kinex Log, said 'the show targets exhibitors interested in the fast growing Indian travel market, both inbound & outbound. So many developments are taking place with the more affluent Indian community spending substantial sums on a range of holidays including cruises, spas & resorts, safaris, skiing, along with the more conventional destinations like the UK, the US, Malaysia & of course here in Dubai '.

First time for hosted buyers
Ms MacDonald continued 'we're putting together a unique hosted buyer programme to put quality international and Indian buyers in touch with a quality international and Indian sellers through pre-arranged meetings. We will target buyers from key operators & marketing organisations globally and in India. This is the first time something like this has been arranged in India and distinguishes WTI from the other travel shows'.

Conference
The event will feature a cutting edge programme of conference and exhibitor seminars, as well as round table discussions which will deal with all the latest issues and trends facing the modern-day Indian tourism sector.

Fe Business Traveller Awards
The Indian Express Group will also be hosting the fe Business Traveller Awards at WTI. The awards will recognise excellence within the Indian travel industry and are to be judged through a readership poll conducted using a wide range of Indian travel media.