Messe Berlin, one of the world’s leading trade fair companies, announced its plans of organising the inaugural ITB India next year. The 3-day business-to-business travel trade show and convention is scheduled to take place at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, India, from 15 to 17 April 2020.
The show would witness participation from key travel industry leaders and buyers from various cities of India, besides international exhibitors from the MICE, leisure and corporate sectors. ITB India will also feature a Hosted Buyers’ Programme which will cater to buyers from first, second, and third tier cities of the country.
Being one of the fastest-growing major economies India has vast potential for both inbound and outbound travel. The Indian travel industry is estimated to be valued at US$ 56 billion by 2020. UNTWO and World Tourism Organization, predict that there will 50 million outbound travellers by next year. ITB India is a major opportunity for National Tourism Organisations (NTOs), travel, and hospitality companies to substancially expand their markets.
“In recent years we have given the ITB brand an increasingly international dimension,” said Dr. Christian Göke, Chief Executive Officer of Messe Berlin. “From a global and regional perspective, India is a vast source market for the travel industry with a huge growth potential. We are delighted that ITB India will in future complement the trio of ITB Berlin, ITB Asia and ITB China, making it a quartet and strengthening the global ITB brand.”
Between 2006 and 2016 India’s outbound travel expenditure increased 7% on average year-on-year basis and saw an even higher growth rate of 8.5% in travel expenditure from 2015 to 2016. India’s rate was considerably higher than growth rates witnessed in other major countries including China, Brazil and Indonesia for the same period.
“Having successfully run eleven editions of ITB Asia, it is logical for us to progress to the next frontier of travel in Asia. India represents an extremely promising market with a growing purchasing power among travellers from the region. We are optimistic that ITB India will be a prominent platform for attendees from the MICE, leisure and corporate sectors to come together to further grow the Indian travel market,” said Katrina Leung, Managing Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB India.
“We’re proud to be supporting Messe Berlin in organising its premier event in the Indian market. As ITB is a renowned international brand, we’re delighted to be a key partner and together, make ITB India the leading travel trade event for the India market,” commented Bernhard Steinrücke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.
Of the buyers at ITB India, 50% are expected to focus on leisure travel, with MICE and corporate travel buyers making up the remainder with 25% respectively. Almost a third of all buyers at ITB India are expected to have a purchasing power of more than US$1 million. 86% of expected buyers at ITB India will also be from the western and northern parts of India.
As with other ITB shows, exhibitors will be drawn from a wide range of companies and representatives from travel agencies and operators, NTOs, business travel and MICE, travel technology, accommodation, and transport.
