Press Release
The 13th edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB 2024) concluded with euphoria among the travel trade at the Novotel Jaipur Convention Centre in Sitapura on 7 May. The ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ expressed great satisfaction on the networking opportunities. This edition was dedicated to the promotion of India as the global Wedding tourism destination. A total of 242 major inbound Foreign Tour Operators (FTOs) from 52 countries participated as foreign buyers in this mega event.
The 3-day GITB was organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It is supported by leading national and regional associations like Hotel & Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA) and RATO.
Speaking about the success of the Mart, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Gayatri Rathore said that GITB has been hugely successful in attracting serious buyers and sellers. Over 10,000 pre-scheduled B2B meetings were held over the course of two days. The participation of 10 States including the Host State of Rajasthan shows that the mart has established itself across the country. As many as 242 FTOs came from 52 countries to take part in the mart. Being especially dedicated to promotion of weddings in this edition of GITB, focused networking was the result.
Chairman of FICCI Tourism & Culture Committee, Dipak Deva said that this edition of Great Indian Travel Bazaar has proved once again that this mart serves as a catalyst for the growth of tourism in the country. This year too witnessed the interactive networking between the buyers (tour operators) and sellers (owners of tourism products). The industry professionals connected, exchanged ideas and explored new business opportunities.
President of FHTR and HRAR, Kuldeep Singh Chandela said that events like GITB give a fillip to inbound tourism. It leads to increased footfalls. With marked improvement of air, rail and road connectivity in the country, India stands poised for mammoth growth in the sector of tourism. The two-day B2B interactions have been successfully concluded.
Secretary General of Indian Heritage Hotels Associations (IHHA), Gaj Singh Alsisar said that GITB has been an excellent networking platform for stand-alone hotels which can interact with foreign buyers and meet all the stakeholders under one roof. With well-screened buyers, GITB is much stronger than other marts organised in the country. Here the sellers can pick and choose which parties they are interested in connecting with and pre-schedule their meetings accordingly.