60 Countries at OTM 2017 make it the Largest International Trade Show in India

Exhibitors from a record number of 60 countries showcased their destinations at OTM 2017 from February 21-23 at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre. 1134 travel organisations from 60 Countries exhibited at OTM 2017 including National and State Tourism Organisations, Hotels, Airlines, DMCs and other suppliers serving leisure as well as business travel and MICE markets.

The dignitaries present at the inaugural session included Sohan Singh Thandal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Punjab; I Gde Pitana, Deputy Tourism Minister for Overseas Promotion of Indonesia; H.E. Mohammed K Al Mheiri, Undersecretary- Ministry of Economy and Adviser to the Minister for Tourism;  H.E. Dr Ahmed Al Banna, UAE Ambassador to India; H.E. Demetrios A Theophylactou, High Commissioner, Cyprus High Commission; Dimitrios Tryfonopoulos, Secretary General, Greek National Tourism Organisation; Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, Director General, Tourism Malaysia; H.E. Erdal Sabri Ergen, Consul General, Consulate General of Turkey in Mumbai; Ismail A Hamid, Egyptian Tourism Counsellor, Egyptian Tourism Office; Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India.

The Tourism Minister of Greece, Elena Kountoura graced the show with her presence on second day. H.E. Panos Kalogeropoulos, Ambassador of Greece to India and the Tourism Minister took a tour of the show. This was the first time that Greece Tourism participated at OTM 2017. The UAE Ministry of Economy organised a national Visit UAE pavilion for the second year in a row, the delegation was led by H.E. Mohammed K Al Mheiri. First-time participants at OTM like Bahrain, Cambodia, Cyprus, Greece, Ho Chi Minh City provided variety of experiences to the valued travel trade partners.

To tap into this lucrative market, OTM 2017 included NTOs from Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Dubai, Egypt, Fiji, Fujairah, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Philippines, Ras Al Khaimah, Romania, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sharjah, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and country representations from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Tanzania, United Kingdom, USA, etc.

Participation from India included Tourism departments along with private operators from Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and private sector participation from Daman & Diu, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana in a big way. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India had a strong presence at the show.

Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd (organiser of OTM), said, “We are excited about the record number of 60 countries participating in OTM 2017. We have seen growth and consolidation of our lead as the largest travel fair in every other parameter including area of exhibition halls rented, number of sellers and buyers. It also shows resilience of travel market despite slowdowns.”

OTM 2018 will be held from January 23-25 at the Bombay Exhibition & Convention Centre.