Kolkata hosted India’s oldest and the biggest travel trade network show – Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) recently. With a record turnout of more than 10,000 visitors, the show was held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium and Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, Kolkata, from July 12-14.
14 countries, 440 exhibitors and 25 Indian states, including pavilions of various national and state tourism boards have come under the canopy in this 30th edition of TTF.
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal were involved in the fair as Partner Countries while Thailand and Bahrain joined as the Feature Countries. Exhibitors from Bhutan, China, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Africa and UAE have also participated in the show.
Among the participant Indian states, West Bengal and Uttarakhand had shared the largest pavilions at the fair while states like Odisha, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan set up extensive state pavilions with their private operators. Besides them some other states like Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Tripura, Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir and Karnataka had also assembled their own state pavilions, to attract tourists to their land.
India Tourism actively supported and was prominently present at the show.
Apart from being a significant opportunity to network with the travel trade and tourists, TTF Forum, is a knowledge-sharing platform as well. It continues to be a unique platform providing opportunities for buyers and sellers from across the country to showcase their latest offerings and build long term business ties.
This time in Kolkata, the highlighted fact was – contributing more than 20% of all arrivals Bangladesh topped in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in recent years. Similarly Bangladesh also received the majority of international tourists from India. Commenting on this, Chairman and CEO of Fairfest Media Ltd, Sanjiv Agarwal said, “The emergence of Bangladesh, always presented at the show, as a key source market, as well as destination, adds a new dimension to TTF Kolkata.” Bangladesh participated at the show with a large delegation.
Agarwal also said that, TTF Kolkat is the oldest and one of the busiest travel trade shows in India. With the increasing importance of outbound and inbound potential in the East and Southeast Asia, it serves as a strategically important gateway for the industry. That is the reason it is a full house show every year since the last 30 years – a legacy that we are proud of.
The event received commendable support from the Ministry of Tourism, State Tourism Boards, National Tourist Offices, thousands of private exhibitors and trade associations. It is endorsed by Incredible India, TAAI, OTOAI, ATOAI, ADTOI, IATO, IAAI, SKAL INTERNATIONAL, NEHATO and ETAA.
