Corporate Gypsy: Indian Outbound Tourism

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

OUTBOUND TRAVEL FROM INDIA- TTFOTM 2010 MUMBAI

The TTFOTM, an acronym for the Travel and Tourism Fair –Outbound Travel Mart is in its 20th edition and growing. Conducted by Fairfest Media Ltd , it has shows in Chennai and Bangalore in January every year, in Mumbai and Delhi in early February, in Hyderabad and Calcutta in July , and finally in Ahmedabad and Surat every August.
Given the increasing trend in outbound traffic and the stability and resilience of the Indian economy, the participation in these fairs, is not surprisingly, enthusiastic. At the Mumbai event, the general visitors who paid up a modest Rs 20/- for entrance, were at least 3000 daily, according to estimates. The trade visitors arriving to strike deals with the various tourism boards were a separate lot. What is also worth mentioning is that an increasing share the outbound trade market is now originating from the mini metros and the small towns, which were hitherto not considered viable by many tour operators according to some of the travel professionals present.
The other trend is the increasing popularity of home stays. This seems to have picked up dramatically in Kerala. With a yawing gap between the five star luxury hotels and the cheap and dubious economy hotels that cater to back packers, there is an opportunity for home stays that provide affordable lodging and provide an authentic feel of the place and its culture.
Web portals like make my trip and time share players like Mahindra Resorts seem to be increasingly entering the travel arena and for good reason, it would seem.
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Japanese National Tourism Organization

From Russia with love :)

Hongkong, here we come:)

Naturally Nepal!

Kenya they claim is magical, but that is if you like wildlife and safari's!

Maldives, the sunny side of life:)

The China National Tourism Administration, as a destination it is expected to land at the top of the table pretty soon. Inflow of tourists is way ahead of India's.

Jamaica , probably the cricket connection?

Macau was the venue of the film event IIFA( Indian International Film Academy) and the casino there helps :) It is also touted to be the Venice of the East !

The Egyptian Tourism stall, did not find any belly dancers in action though :), however lots of mummies and daddies showing interest here :)

Pattaya and Phuket, Thailand is a popular destination!

Canada, Turkey and Tanzania were also in attendance though the pictures are uploaded.

Himachal had a presence.

Gujarat seems to opening its doors.

Terrorism notwithstanding, J&K is inviting visitors.

Incredible India which was coined by Prathap Suthan still has currency,

the stall was to promote the North Eastern states.

Maharashtra Tourism had its stall, they are happy to welcome "tourists"!

Rajasthan Tourism, not just for high celebrity weddings and VIP's !!

Learning from the Kerala model?

Nainital, Mussorie, Jim Corbett park, lots of hill stations and colonial heritage on display!

Pink chaddis notwithstanding, its a green flag for visitors. Heritage at Hampi, Mysore, Brindavan gardens are big draws as is Bangalore which was once the air-conditioned city, though now its the software and BPO hub.

Kerala seems to be moving to homestays and they already have a Union of owners:)

The boat tragedy was a set back and the land title problems in Munnar are a controversial issue,

however, the promotional efforts are going on with vigour. The recent decision of the Centre to cut back project allocation may have served as a wake up call.

The Aitken Spence group was present, as did the Mahindra Holidays people, make my trip and arzoo were the digital players with stalls, Raja Rani had a huge area, so did Guideline and the Aqua Suna group. At Rs 13,500 per sqmt, it must have been a value for money proposition.

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