Jaipur to host international tourism mart

JAIPUR: Jaipur will host a three-day international tourism mart, Great Indian Travel Baazar (GITB 2008), April 21-23.

Travel writers from 42 countries and 163 foreign tour operators are expected to assemble for the mart.

The first-ever pan-India travel mart being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), union ministry of tourism and Rajasthan department of tourism will focus exclusively on inbound tourism with structured Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings between foreign buyers and sellers of Indian tourism product.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will inaugurate the mart while Ambika Soni, union minister for tourism and culture, will be the chief guest.

Amit Mitra, secretary general, Ficci, said in a statement: "India will benefit enormously from GITB. International travel industry players will sample at GITB not just one state, regional product or industry. They will experience India in its entirety."

The business sessions shall address strategic policy issues with decision makers and new products being promoted by the various state governments.

Rajasthan's commissioner of tourism Usha Sharma said that this event would give a fillip to in-bound travel. "The structured interactive sessions during the mart will give an opportunity for brainstorming on potential of India as a tourist destination. Leading national and international experts will interact and network during the knowledge sharing sessions," she said.