Informa Markets in India, India’s leading B2B exhibition organizer, successfully culminated its three-day travel and tourism exchange SATTE’s 28th edition at the India Expo Center, Greater Noida. Inaugurated by Chief Guest Mr. Arvind Singh, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India, the show witnessed participation of over 10,000 visitors from cross-sections of travel, tourism and hospitality industries. Some key dignitaries present at the inauguration of the expo included Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism, Maldives; Mr. Maneck E. Davar, Chairman, Service Export Promotion Council; Ms. Jyoti Mayal, Vice-Chairperson, FAITH; M P Bezbaruah, Former Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India and Secretary General, Hotel Association of India; Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India and Ms. Pallavi Mehra, Group Director, Informa Markets In India amidst an august industry gathering .
Speaking at the inauguration of SATTE, Mr. Arvind Singh, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India, congratulated the organizing team of SATTE for sending out the message of resurgence in the travel and tourism industry. He also mentioned that travel and tourism is the leading service industry of India and as per WTTC, contributed 6.8% of the total economy amounting to INR. 16,681 billion. It generated 39,82,18,000 jobs which translates to 8.0% of the total employment of the Indian economy. Mr. Singh also added, “India is emerging as a nation to look up to for several countries in terms of health infrastructure, we have already vaccinated 32 million people and would be continuing our efficient drive. Coming to strengthening the foundation of travel and tourism industry, the Ministry has launched ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ campaign which has already organized more than 80 webinars. The website of ‘Incredible India’ has also been updated in multiple languages like Chinese and Arabic to facilitate a smooth flow of communication across multiple countries. Initiatives like SATHI (System of Awareness Training for Hospitality Industry), SWADESH and the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF) Certification Programme have been launched. The programmes aim at enhancing the overall experience of tourists by creating a pool of talented and skilled individuals in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. We are positioning India as a centre of Ayurveda, Yoga, Sidha, Naturopathy which will be boosting the Wellness Tourism, the guidelines have already been drafted by the Ministry. Schemes have also been extended to wellness tourism service providers.”
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism, Maldives, said, “SATTE 2021 is a crucial way forward to move past the crisis, which will echo across the globe.” He also thanked Indian Govt. for their support, Indian tourists for visiting Maldives and playing an important role in making it the next door travel destination. By the end of this year, more than 3,00,000 Indian tourists are expected to visit Maldives which is a highest recorded number for any country. Dr. Mausoom added “Indians are hard-working individuals, be it IT professionals, doctors or executive class – they all need a vacation break, and we are working to kickstart our North airport which will cut the travel time by 45 minutes for Indian tourists. Very soon Maldives is all set to become the first country to initiate Vaccine Tourism called as “3V”- “Visit, Vaccinate and Vacation”; it will give travelers the option to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in the Maldives and promote it as a safe destination for tourists”
Maneck E. Davar, Chairman, Services Exports Promotion Council (SEPC) commended Informa Markets in India for organizing SATTE at such a time, he said, “It is a sign of coming back, of resurgence. My compliments to them for have taken this major step in restoring some confidence in the travel and tourism industry. No country can ever grow unless it has a very vibrant and strong hospitality industry and today we have the finest hospitality industry in the world. In SEPC, hospitality and tourism is the largest sector from amongst the 12-13 champion sectors and other services which we look at. We know the pain this industry has gone through in the last year and the pain that this industry will continue to go through, but in spite of that it will continue to be buoyant and optimistic as is evident in this exhibition.”
Dr. Dhananjay Regmi, Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) putting SATTE at the heart of latest marketing efforts that Nepal has undertaken in order to revival tourism in the Himalayan country, Dr. Regmi, added, “SATTE is the biggest show in South Asia. In our efforts to revive tourism in Nepal under the new normal we are looking at opportunities where we can go and promote Nepal. Nepal was preparing to launch Visit Nepal Year 2020 and focusing on that a number of new tourism activities and new products were introduced in Nepal. But before we could publicize it to the world the pandemic struck. SATTE has happened at the right time and has given us the opportunity to inform the trade that Nepal is open to tourism, especially for the Indians, and is also easily accessible from several border points by road along the Indo-Nepal border.”
Jyoti Mayal, Vice-chairperson, FAITH and President, TAA lauding SATTE for organizing the first physical show post-pandemic and facilitating the much needed networking and business opportunity for the travel and tourism industry, said, “We need to move stronger and forward, learn from our past to pave the path of the present and to the future. In the current times, states like Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Kerala and Goa have seen multifold inbound which has boosted our morale. It shows that we are a resilient industry, an industry which can and will help itself nurture and grow. At exhibitions like SATTE we come out stronger to create our businesses. Look around you and see how we support each other. Let us learn from our mistakes as we all start from ground zero and build a healthier sustainable environment for our future generations.”
Private players such as TravelBoutiqueOnline, ITC Welcome Heritage, My Value Travel, Tripjack, Youngistan Travellers, STS World, Destination India, Nix Tours, Hora Tourism, and Rayna Tours, amongst others, also participated this year. SATTE refocused its strategy this year, focusing primarily on the domestic market and a few exclusive international destinations that have opened their doors to tourists since the lockdown was lifted or are looking at wooing Indian stakeholders once restrictions are eased. These included participants such as AlUlA, Nepal, Maldives, Malaysia, Utah and Expo2020 Dubai.
On the successful completion of the 28th edition of SATTE, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India, said, “We acknowledge the support of our exhibitors, visitors and stakeholders for making a coveted industry show like SATTE possible this year. Our theme for this year, ‘Reconnect to Revive’ really resonated with the industry and we appreciate their contribution in joining our efforts to revive the sector. As an industry, we drive 9.2% of the GDP and 10% of the overall employment, it is time we comprehend the significance of these statistics to become future-fit and get united to exhibit our strength. Domestic tourism is already on the path of recovery though we expect periodic see-saws. Through SATTE, we also envisaged the ways to make international and domestic tourism ready and relevant when the time is right and create the road map for the sector to continue ruling the roost. In these unprecedented circumstances we are glad to have hosted such a successful show and provided our able industry partners a platform like SATTE that will further aid them in elevating their business.”
The Ministry of AYUSH participated for the first time at SATTE and Dr. Kishor Patel, MD (Ayu), Research officer (Ayu), CCRAS shared their experience by saying, “Ministry of AYUSH has a leading role in promoting wellness; it is a multi-dimensional concept. Our country is the land of wellness practices and sciences such as Ayurveda, Yoga, and Meditation, but not many people are aware of these practices. It is our maiden association with SATTE; undoubtedly, it has been a great opportunity to receive a platform for reaching out to the masses and getting them acquainted with these terms.”
SATTE 2021 garnered significant support from the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Ayush and State Tourism Boards such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir to name a few. The event also received support from international organizations/associations and Indian travel trade associations such as Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), Hotel Association of India (HAI), Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA), Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO), Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Skal, Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA).
