TTF Hyderabad concludes with encouraging footfall despite torrential rains VENUE: HITEX Exhibition Centre (Hall 3) DATE: July 20th 22nd, 2012 Hyderabad, July 22, 2012: The 97 th edition of India s biggest travel & tourism fair, TTF, organized by Fairfest Media Ltd, concluded today at the Hitex Exhibition Centre with a turnout of 10,000 visitors. Inspite of torrential rains over the first two days of the event, which had the city of Hyderabad reeling, visitors responded enthusiastically, making a beeline for Hitex whenever there was a let up in the rains. The valedictory and awards function on the last day was presided over by K D P Rao, Secretary Tourism, Government of Chhattisgarh. The list of Award Winners is appended below. TTF Hyderabad saw a host of VIPs and dignatories from the travel and tourism industry visiting the event during the three days. While inaugurating the fair, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister V Vasanth Kumar said, The State Government is doing everything it can to promote Telugu culture and tradition, and showcase the Telugu land. Tourism, the Minister, said was beneficial in more ways than one, adding that this was one sure way of moulding the outlook of the youth, exposing them to a world of, different cultures, traditions and people, through tourism.
At the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Roadshow on the opening day, Chandana Khan, Special Chief Secretary, along with Dr Rajat Kumar, Commissioner Tourism, spelt out the vision and initiatives of the tourism department in developing and promoting the tourism industry in the state. The Special Chief Secretary, who is a tourism industry veteran, was nostalgic about the fact that the Hyderabad edition of TTF was started 10 years back in 2003 on her invitation in her previous stint as Principal Secretary Tourism. She was appreciative of the way TTF Hyderabad has grown in size and stature since then. Sandeep Sultania, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), gave a detailed presentation on the various package tours and circuits being developed and marketed by APTDC. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism officials announced an MOU with MakeMyTrip, one of India s largest Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to market the state. Fairfest Media Chairman & CEO Sanjiv Agarwal said, Tourism is not only about business, it is about friendship, fraternity, goodwill, knowing each other, taking time off from your busy schedules. Especially in a city like Hyderabad, which is one of the prominent IT hubs, a lot of people need a break and TTF is the place where they can find out, where to go, how to go, and how to book. Even if they are not planning to go anywhere, just coming here could be a pleasant experience. Gujarat, Chhattisgarh & Host State Andhra Pradesh organized marketing & cultural presentations during TTF to interact with the travel trade and media. Andhra Pradesh Tourism, during its interaction with travel trade and media, displayed their attractions to woo tourists from outside the state. Right at the entrance was an imposing replica of the temple of Lord Balaji, instantly attracting attention, considering the fact that Tirupati is the most favoured destination in the State with hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the country and around the world. As a majority of the tourists visiting Andhra Pradesh are religious tourists, the state government is planning to promote other religious sites, especially in the coastal areas. In the words of
the State Tourism Minister, Most of the tourist destinations in the state are still untapped, and we will focus on promoting those places. This year, the special focus will be on employment generation in the tourism segment in the state. Gujarat, one of the most favoured tourist destinations in India, aggressively promoted their forthcoming festival season to the travel trade, media and prospective tourists from the region. Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited Chairman Kamlesh Patel explained to the travel trade and media representatives, how Gujarat is investing huge amounts in developing and restructuring tourism facilities and promoting its destinations worldwide. Our government is spending a lot on attracting tourists. We will be spending Rs 12 crore to develop the Buddhist circuits. More than Rs 20 crore will be spent on development of the hill stations, he said. Gujarat Tourism is making all out efforts to maintain the momentum this year, with cross country promotion of its upcoming events, such as Saputara Monsoon Festival, Taranetar Fair, Navratri Festival and Rann Utsav, said Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited & Commissioner of Tourism. Present at the Gujarat Tourism roadshow, Chandana Khan, Special Chief Secretary Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh said that Andhra Pradesh & Gujarat had a lot in common, and would cooperate closely to explore potential for greater tourism exchanges and traffic between the two states. Chhattisgarh is also laying a lot of stress on developing and marketing its tourism potential. State Tourism Secretary, K D P Rao, who was on his maiden visit to TTF, made a presentation on all the myriad, unique, and hidden tourism treasures of Chhattisgarh. Special Discounts were being offered by Chhattisgarh Tourism to the visitors at TTF Hyderabad. Mr. P. Sen Bhowmick, General Manager, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board assured proper security arrangements for the tourists in Maoist affected areas. The importance of the Indian tourism sector and the positive industry sentiments were reflected in the enthusiastic participation of more than 160 exhibitors at TTF Hyderabad this year, which had representation from 19 Indian states and 7 countries.
International destinations like Bhutan, Kenya, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Uzbekistan were showcased in this fair. Other states which had significant participation were Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Delhi, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Cultural troupes from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh added colour and rhythm to TTF Hyderabad, with their energetic performances. Last weekend TTF witnessed huge success in Kolkata with 20,000+ visitors. From Hyderabad, TTF will now travel to Ahmedabad (24 26 August), Surat (31 August 2 September), Mumbai (7 9 September) and finally ending this season by introducing a new location Pune (14 16 September), thus completing the largest network of travel marts in India for 2012. Since 1989, TTF has provided an annual opportunity for organisations from India and abroad to showcase their products and services to a large cross section of the travel trade and consumers across major markets in India. India s biggest travel show boasts of a committed visitorship of travel trade members, corporate and business travel decision makers, as well as leisure and holiday travellers. TTF is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, as well as travel industry bodies like Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), OTOAI (Outbound Tour Operators Association of India), and Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). Travel News Digest (TND) is the official publication. (www.travelnewsdigest.in)
TTF HYDERABAD 2012 - AWARD LIST GROUP PARTICIPATION AWARD HIMACHAL PRADESH TOURISM - 17 co-participants BEST PRINT PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL AWARD MAKE MY TRIP INDIA PVT LTD MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT AWARD MADHYA PRADESH STATE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION - for Promoting Caravan Tourism PROMISING NEW DESTINATION AWARD THE COLUMBUS ASIA - for promoting Uzbekistan TOURISM COUNCIL OF BHUTAN THE TAAMARA - COORG - for Promoting Coorg MAKE PLAN HOLIDAYS - for Promoting Maldives BEST DECORATION AWARD - Booth KERALA TOURISM CHHATTISGARH TOURISM BOARD S V HOLIDAY BAZAAR PVT LTD BEST DECORATION AWARD - Pavilion KARNATAKA TOURISM TOURISM CORPORATION OF GUJARAT LTD BEST OVERALL INTEGRATED PRESENTATION AWARD ANDHRA PRADESH TOURISM - for bringing the various dance forms and handicrafts across the state & a theme pavilion on the famous Tirupati Temple
About Fairfest Media Fairfest Media Ltd. pioneered TTF as India s exclusive Travel Mart way back in 1989. Today it is the oldest and the biggest travel show network, representing the maximum number of locations, participants and visitors. Over the years an exclusive International Section, branded as OTM Outbound Travel Mart, was introduced, to address the growing numbers of international participation. Today TTF&OTM in Mumbai and New Delhi is branded as OneWorld Travel Mart, OTM. Apart from the OTM, Fairfest Media has to its credit a number of other trade shows, viz Municipalika India s leading exhibition on municipal services and sustainable urban development. Recently, Fairfest Media has launched its maiden international foray, the OneWorld Travel Mart, OTM, in San Francisco. For more, please visit: www.ttfotm.com