Great Indian Travel Bazaar in Rajasthan ended successfully

The Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) 2013 held in Jaipur, the Rhajastan capital, has proven to be a productive forum for the worldwide travel industry.

This month, the 6th edition of GITB 2013 was formally inaugurated by the Vice President of the Federation of Indian Chambers and Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Jyotsna Suri, and Principal Secretary for Tourism, Rakesh Srivastava, at the Birla Auditorium in Jaipur.

GITB 2013 brought together over 8,500 prefixed appointments with the entire spectrum of the Indian travel and tourism industry to network and to exchange knowledge with over 265 buyers coming from 56 countries by giving travel specialists the opportunity to get to know new initiatives focused on India travel and hospitality.

Jaipur, also known as the Pink City, is the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan with a present population estimated at around 3.3 million. Rhajastan is the largest and wealthiest state in India, yet Jaipur is trying hard to speed up to the level of cosmopolitan cities like India’s IT hub, Bangalore; Mumbai; New Delhi; and vibrant Calcutta.

Whether it is a private Bollywood tour into Studio Mumbai with a live film shoot, or a private dinner with a Bollywood star, Bespoke Tours believes in real luxury and 24-hour service for clients. They offer inbound experiences; conventions, events, and meetings; as well as outbound travel of all sizes, with a luxury division and office in London for the affluent traveler.

Through its relationship with Jet Airways, Jetair Tours plans to create products and services promoting outgoing holidays. The inbound division of India manages tourists from the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Australia, and has been developing new market shares from Turkey as it strives to enter the big league of tour operators.

Another global player is Mintcentives, a business that started with 15 employees in 2002 and now has 400 people working in the MICE market, with clients from France, Belgium, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain. Working with Thomas Cook and KUONI, Mintcentives believes in more transparency in the total cost of travel. Among its clients are BMW, PFIZER, Audi, and VW, to name a few.

Temple Tiger Tours offers package tours from 3 nights on to 29 days to Kathmandu as well as Tiger safaris.

The Taj Hotels (TATA) is adding 3 new hotels outside Delhi into its portfolio, for a total of 103 hotels worldwide.

Foreign buyers were thrilled by the unique opportunity hosted by Creative Travel (India’s most-awarded destination company) with a very special gala event inside the glamorous Royal City Palace Jaipur (a humble home of 300 rooms) of Maharani and Maharaj of Jaipur, and a spectacular elephant polo game played inside the palace gardens at night.

Jaipur is the only place in the world where elephants are trained for the polo game, with training taking many years to accomplish. Although polo with elephants lacks the speedy and agility of polo with horses, their colossal dignity on the field is most impressive and unique.

Creative Travel Joint Manager Director Rohit Kohil interviewed by the TIMES of India, underlined that GITB 2013 is a very important inbound tourism platform, but needs a convention center to host the event. Creative Travel and its team was in charge of complete organization of this year’s, and team members became like family to many foreign buyers, with their stand at the exhibition a haven for all.

At the closure of GITB 2013, buyers and sellers expressed great satisfaction in the event, and found the fair tremendously successful in making of B2B meetings.

As an attendee, one should plan to spend a few more days in Jaipur or travel through the heart of Rajasthan by the legendary Palace of Wheels – one of the most exclusives trains. Or one might stay where the Maharajas lived – there are a wide range of palaces suitable even for smaller budgets; information is available in a new guide from the Indian Heritage Hotels Association.

The Raj Palace is one of these palaces, and was the first palace build in Jaipur in the 17th century. It was transformed into a luxury hotel in 1977 and is a member of Small Luxury Hotels. The Raj Palace made history all over India by having the first female and the youngest 5-star hotel manager of India.

The Taj Hotel’s Rambagh Palace is a living legend in Jaipur. Built in 1835 and later refurbished as a royal guesthouse and hunting lodge, the mansion was renamed Rambagh, after the then-reigning Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II.

The Maharaj Narendra Singh (City Palace Jaipur) opened its doors to the splendid Royal Roop Vilas Palace Hotel Nawalgarh that was previously part of the Hotel Roopniwas Palace, another classic heritage property in the world of traditional Rajasthani hospitality.

The number of incoming travelers to India, although rising, stands in no comparison to Europe, where the mere region of Antayla, Turkey, receives 11 million tourists; Spain receives 51 million; France – 49 million. The subcontinent of India quoted 6.29 million foreign tourist arrivals for 2012.

One barrier to travel to India is the visa – procedures are slow and few countries can apply for visa upon arrival.

According to the Indian government, the number of visas upon arrival issued during March 2013 for nationals of the 11 countries were: Japan (848), New Zealand (332), Indonesia (312), the Philippines (225), Singapore (214), Finland (109), Luxembourg (32), Vietnam (20), Myanmar (8), Cambodia (7), and Laos (0) – just a little more than 2,000 in one month.

Last week, Union Tourism Minister Shri K. Chiranjeevi said that tourist friendly embarkation and disembarkation cards are being made smaller by reducing the information to be filled in by arriving foreigners. On his visit to India on April 11, 2013, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General Taleb Rifai urged India’s Vice President to position tourism higher on its global agenda. Mr. Taleb Rifai, accompanied by Union Tourism Minister Shri K. Chiranjeevi, handed over an “Open Letter” to Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari that was jointly signed by Mr. Rifai and Mr. David Scowsill, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), urging world leaders to join hands with the leaders from other countries, as well as with UNWTO and WTTC, to position travel and tourism higher on the global agenda.

According to the letter, “The total contribution of travel and tourism to employment – including jobs indirectly supported by the sector – is estimated at 7% to 8%. This makes travel and tourism a vital contributor to the global development agenda, affording it a unique role in building strong, sustainable, and balanced global growth.”

According to the latest survey, India has very few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison. The Indian government has identified a shortage of 150,000 hotel rooms, with most of the undersupply in the budget sector. Hotel Investment News writes in is Global edition that the “slowing economic growth, an increase in the supply of hotel rooms, and growing competition from foreign operators, is hurting local chains such as Hotel Leelaventure Ltd., Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd., and Kamat Hotels (India) Ltd., which are selling assets to ease debt in a country with high interest rates.”

According to Reuters, Starwood and Accor are leading the hunt for conversion opportunities in India, where the hospitality sector is expected to grow to $36 billion in India, with most hotels either being converted or built in the limited-service segment.

The supply of hotels coming onto the market tends to be best-suited to the mid-market brands of global players. Converting hotels is a shorter window than building, which can take 3 to 6 years in India or longer.

Regarding the recent articles on safety and protection of tourists, Minister Shri K. Chiranjeevi said that the Indian Ministry of Tourism has advised all the state governments and UT administration to deploy the Tourist Police, in order to ensure the safety and security of foreign tourists.