Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart 2014 concluded

The Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart (MPTM) was held between October 18-20, 2014 at Hotel Palash Residency, Bhopal, which recently concluded on a highly-successful note.

The event was inaugurated on the morning of October 18 by the Chief Guest, Hon. Chief Minister of M.P. Shri. Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and was presided over by Shri Surendra Patwa, Hon. Minister for Tourism & Culture-MP, along with many other dignitaries from the MP Tourism Department and in the presence of buyers, sellers, and media both from national and international locations.

The Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart, spread over three days, showcased the tourism attractions of the state that would lead to an enhanced brand image as a destination. Destination Madhya Pradesh got together all stakeholders of the tourism industry in the state such as hoteliers, travel agents and tour operators, adventure tour operators, tourism districts, handicraftsmen and handloomers, and cuisine specialists, etc.

The event’s uttermost objective was to promote the tourism and service business in India and international locations. The major markets included Europe, Southeast Asia, Eastern Asia, the United States, Australia, as well as emerging ones, such as the Middle East, South America, and South Africa.

Following were the Mart’s highlights:

• Biggest Travel Event in Central India.

• Inaugural Edition had over 115 Buyers and Media from over 10 countries.

• Over 2000 B2B appointments.

• Tour Operators from USA, UK, Australia, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India etc.

• Biggest Congregation of Travel-trade from Madhya Pradesh.

• Participation from sectors of Wildlife Resorts & Camps, Buddhist destinations, Hotels and resorts, Adventure Tour operators, Luxury Hotels, etc.

• Domestic Tour Operators from all over India, with buyers from major markets such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Nagpur and emerging markets such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, etc.

• Familiarization Tours to major Tourist attractions such as Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Sanchi, Bembetka, Ujjain, Mandu, etc.

• Over 800 applicants for Domestic Hosted Buyers and over 280 applicants for International Hosted Buyer segments. This indicates the growing interest in the Madhya Pradesh from the travel-trade.

• Nearly 400 Trade – Buyers registered online and on-site, making it the most visited trade event in Central India.

• Networking being one of the key part of business these days, MP Travel Mart provided four social networking opportunities for stake holders from Madhya Pradesh to interact and do business with Tour Operators from India and abroad.

• Local Cuisine showcased, winning appreciation from travel partners from across the world.

The event witnessed participation from some of the top travel and tourism State Boards from India like: the Government of Chattisgarh, Government of Karnataka, Maharashtra Tourism, and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat, to name a few. Many well-known brands in the travel sphere like: Jehanuma Palace Hotel, Kanha Village Eco Resort, Courtyard by Marriott,Radisson Blue Hotel, The Baagh-Kanha, Residency Hotel, and Noor-us-sabah Palace, were also among others who held their stands at the mart.

Posts about the highly-successful event in the form of the feedback have been tremendously positive, with almost 100% of the sellers calling it a success and recommending it to be annual feature. And almost all buyers appreciated the concept to showcase and introduce the state of Madhya Pradesh. The feedback indicated that the event has introduced them to several new products of Madhya Pradesh and would widen the holiday portfolio that they can sell to their clients.

Some of the feedback quotes from international hosted buyers, domestic buyers, and sellers from Madhya Pradesh is as follows:

INTERNATIONAL

RAS INTERNATIONAL TOURS – MEXICO, Mr. Reuvel Saghi said, “Good level of suppliers and good information. I got to know new destinations and properties in MPTM.”

AVION HOLIDAYS – UK, MR ROGER MONIZ said, “A well-planned and excellent event! I was able to meet with number of exhibitors and I believe I can have a long-term relationship with them. Almost all were good.”

NEW EXCLUSIVE DESTINATION PTE LTD, MR. MUCHHALA RAHIB from SINGAPORE said “A very well organized event. Keep up the good work you have started! The Mart itself was very useful.”

MRS. REENA TORY – AUSTRALIA, MANTRA WILD ADVENTURES said “Interesting Sellers!”

DOMESTIC BUYERS

YASHODA TOURS & TRAVELS – AURANGABAD, Mr. Sunil Agarwal said, “The event was very good. Under one roof, we could interact with the whole of Madhya Pradesh.”

CENIN TRAVELS – NAGPUR, Mr. Bhusan Paul said, “The experience was good. I am fully satisfied, though it was organized for the first time! The event was organized very well. I interacted with Exhibitors for more information.”

PARSHAWANATH TRAVELS – AHMEDABAD, Mr. Urmil Shah said, “The suppliers and sellers from Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Bhopal, Indore, Pench were very prominent and helpful. Every part of the exhibition was very useful.”

TRAVELAID PVT. LTD., – KOLKATA, MR. SANJAY MANIAR said, “Amazing Destination, so well projected. I needed to get a firsthand insight into MP and its vast potential and this Mart provided me that.”

TOP TRAVELS & TOURS PVT. LTD., – NEW DELHI, MR. CHHAAND MATHUR said, “Good! But there is always a scope to make it a bigger and better event.”

SELLERS

RADIANT TRAVELS (INDIA) PVT. LTD said, “Great Response! We should have a bigger scale event next year!”

MAHUA HOTELS PVT. LTD said, “Please continue! Excellent presentation and arrangements, Keep it up.! Go ahead!”

AMAR MAHAL said, “Everything is perfect! This is a good step taken by MP Tourism and it is definitely going to strengthen tourism in the MP State. B2B is also good. The time and the space given were very useful. We will come back again next year, if it is organized in the same manner.”

RAI TRAVELS said, “The event needs more buyers’ participation. Yes, it is definitely a very good show. We were able to market our products and services very well here!”

COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT commented, “The quality of buyers was good. More hosted buyers should be added from the Far Eastern market from next time.”