The list includes Busan Metropolitan City, Dubai Convention & Events Bureau, Kempinski Ambience Hotel Delhi, Portaventura Business & Events, Sapporo Convention Bureau, Taj Group, Tourism New Zealand and Travelite (India).
SINGAPORE – Bolstered by India’s potential as an emerging hub for MICE tourism, international and domestic CVBs / NTOs and corporates have jumped on board as IT&CM India 2014’s exhibitors in the event’s new table-top showcase.
Excited over India’s prospects, debuting international exhibitor Mischa Mannix-Opie, Regional Manager South & South East Asia of Tourism New Zealand said, “India is the 10th largest source market for New Zealand, and is an important market due to its potential for further growth. Indian visitors provide strong business for New Zealand tourism operators during a time in the year when it is traditionally quieter.”
She continued, “India is thus an important market in boosting productivity of our tourism operators’ all year round.”
Indian exhibitor Suku Verghese, General Manager Sales – Conferences & Incentives of Taj Group agreed, “The current overall outlook for the country is very optimistic with the new government in place. There is much more excitement expected in the coming months across the MICE segment, be it corporate training programmes, incentive visits or B2B forums.”
New exhibitor Baek Sang Hyeon, Assistant Director of Korea’s Busan Metropolitan City also highlighted the advantage of participating at IT&CM India. “Everyone knows that the Indian market is important. They have a fast growing population and are also a rapidly developing country. There will be a lot of buyers from the Indian market who I want to meet.”
Also keen to harness on the remarkable growth of the Indian market is first-time Spanish exhibitor Belen Madrid, MICE Director of Portaventura Business & Events who concurred, “India is a new and exciting market for us. Participating at IT&CM India enables us to arrange face-to-face meetings which will definitely help us in establishing new contacts in India.”
Expressing confidence, Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media said, “As India’s economy rapidly develops with a rising travel potential, the country’s business travellers are projected to be the second largest group after the Chinese travellers in a few years.”
He added, “India’s travel market is recognised as one of the key emerging sources of tourism for the world. With this potential in mind, we are confident our exhibitors at IT&CM India can cater to the needs of Indian corporate and business travel buyers.”
Verghese mirrored this optimism about the upcoming event, “IT&CM has been a leading platform for promoting MICE destinations both domestically as well as globally for the Taj group of hotels. With Taj’s increasing global footprint, the upcoming Taj Dubai by the end of 2014 presents an exciting offering for both local and international visitors this year. Buyers can expect a vivid taste of unique destinations and breathtaking vistas coupled with state-of-the-art meeting venues Taj Group has to offer.”
IT&CM India will take place from 19 to 21 August 2014.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
