The last day of TTF Bangalore saw a steady stream of visitors coming in throughout the day after two days of high quality business interactions on the exhibition floor. The new venue, Dr. Prabhakar Core Convention Center saw buzzing activity of over 175 participants from all over the country as well as from 9 countries wooing Bangaloreans with special holiday packages. On Sunday afternoon, an informal awards ceremony honored the exhibitors in several categories.
The โBest Print Promotional Material Awardsโ went to India Tourism and Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
The Tamara โ Coorg (with tariff starting Rs 18,000) and Ark Holidays (for Super Star Virgo ex Hong Kong package) were given the โMost Exclusive Leisure Productโ awards.
Tourism Malaysia (for Visit Malaysia @ Rs 6,500 offer), Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (for Bharat Darshan Tourist Trainโs Rajasthan Mela special packages starting at less than Rs 600 pp per day), and Moonstone Holidays (for campus tours starting at Rs 3,000 per student for 3N/4D) were awarded the โBest Value Leisure Products.โ
The awards for the โMost Innovative Productsโ were given to Tony Bike Centre (for the 11 daysโ Indian Bike Tour of Leh and Ladakh) and I Am Adventure (for motorbike expedition of Bhutan covering 1,200 kms in 11 days).
Awards for the โMost Promising New Destinationsโ went to Yeti World (for promoting Birethanti/Majgaon/Dhampus), Jharkhand Tourism (for its brilliant rural heritage โ Amadubi) and Warasgaon Tourism (Lavasa Tourism).
State tourism organizations scored again at TTF Bangalore with Karnataka Tourism and Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited taking away the โBest Decoration Awards โ Big Pavilion.โ Nepal Tourism Board, Kerala Tourism, Goa Tourism Development Corporation and Himachal Pradesh Tourism were given the โBest Decoration Awards โ Medium Pavilion,โ while Hotel Pine Spring and Classic Travel Shoppe were the winners of the โBest Decoration Awards โ Booth.โ
The fair was inaugurated on Friday in the presence of a host of senior government tourism officials and senior travel industry representatives. The three-day travel and tourism extravaganza was a one-stop shop of travel and tourism products, showcasing destinations, tourism packages and travel products to help footloose Bangalorians plan and book their holidays. Other than NTOs and STBs, hotels , resorts, travel agents, tour operators, online travel agencies, railways, cruise lines โ they were all there.
Nepal was the Partner Country with 8 private participants sharing the space inside the pavilion and Malaysia was the Feature Country aggressively promoting Visit Malaysia 2014. Participants from other countries such as Singapore, Maldives, Indonesia, Mauritius and Bhutan also participated at TTF Bangalore with great enthusiasm, all looking for the right kind of opportunity to tap the thriving India outbound market.
India Tourism took an active participation at the TTF. It has been supporting TTF since the inception 25 years ago.
Karnataka Tourism, while playing the role of Host State, strongly promoted its relatively new destinations as well as highlighted its forthcoming world famous Hampi Festival. Karnataka is a very strong source market of outbound and domestic tourists and also a leading destination for domestic tourists.
Other states which showcased samples of their own tourism treasures, rich culture and heritage were Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Maharashtra, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Bihar and Punjab.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism conducted a road show over hi-tea on day-two at Capitol Hotel for the travel trade and media with their new campaign โEverythingโs possible!โ
โApart from higher disposable income, people in Karnataka are also known for their inclination towards leisure. That is why the state has emerged as an important market for the tourism industry in the country and now it is on the radar of Andhra Pradesh. With this road show, we also look forward to have tie-ups with tour operators in the state,โ said Chandana Khan, Special Chief Secretary, YAT&C Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh and Chairperson, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.
TTF is also supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; and distinguished travel industry bodies including Incredible India; Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI); Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI); Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI); Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and the Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA).
Next weekend, TTF will be held at the Chennai Trade Centre (January 10 -12).
The TTF is also organized in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai and Pune. Guwahati has been added this year, to include Indiaโs North East region in the TTF network.
With participants from all over India and abroad, the three-day show TTF took the visitors “Around the World in 3 Days,” in Bangalore, as conveyed in its own campaign.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- That is why the state has emerged as an important market for the tourism industry in the country and now it is on the radar of Andhra Pradesh.
- The awards for the โMost Innovative Productsโ were given to Tony Bike Centre (for the 11 days' Indian Bike Tour of Leh and Ladakh) and I Am Adventure (for motorbike expedition of Bhutan covering 1,200 kms in 11 days).
- The three-day travel and tourism extravaganza was a one-stop shop of travel and tourism products, showcasing destinations, tourism packages and travel products to help footloose Bangalorians plan and book their holidays.