GPS ups the game with 8 cities in 2018

The 6th edition of GPS, beginning in Nagpur from January 15-17, will travel to eight cities in 2018. This year, GPS plans to launch its membership card and introduce two products—RainbowCTM and Trip38. The attendees will also be able to participate in around six EDWIN workshops to be hosted this year.

ANKITA SAXENA

After the Nagpur edition, Global Panorama Show (GPS) will be hosted in Ahmedabad (July 5-7), Chandigarh (July 12-14), Lucknow (July 19-21), Kolkata (August 2-4), Kochi (August 9-11), Pune (August 23-25) and Hyderabad. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Global Panorama Showcase, explains that the purpose of GPS is to educate and empower the agents in the tertiary markets. Anand says, “With our presence in six cities across India in 2017, and an attendance of over 7,000 visitors across all the events, we realised that there are areas which still need to be covered to encompass all Tier-II and TierIII cities in India. Hence, we decided to add Lucknow and Hyderabad to our portfolio of events this year. With the addition of these two new cities, we envisage an overall increase in our market reach to over 8,000 travel agents and travel professionals in 2018 across all the eight cities. The GPS App has become an essential part of every attendee. The lead scanning tool for the exhibitors is a USP of GPS and if used optimally, it can reap high returns for the exhibitors.”

New cities

With GPS Lucknow, the travel trade of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand will be targeted and an attendance of over 500 delegates is expected over three days. The GPS Hyderabad is being hosted in collaboration with the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FTAPCCI) and the travel professionals from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka will be focused upon. “We are expecting the tourism boards of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to showcase the region and thus invite stakeholders from across the country and over 500 attendees are expected during the three-day event,” says Anand.

With the addition of Hyderabad and Lucknow to our portfolio of events this year, we envisage an overall increase in our market reach to over 8,000 travel agents and travel professionals in 2018 across all the eight cities- Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Global Panorama Showcase

Format and Sessions

GPS has a fixed format where the event is conducted over a three-day period with Day 1 exclusively for product presentation and education. The number of exhibitors is restricted to about 110 at the Nagpur edition while 75-80 exhibitors participate in other cities. The exhibitors at GPS will range from tourism boards, airlines, DMCs, technology providers and ancillary services related to the travel trade. Anand points out, “GST continues to be a burning issue for the industry. Thus, we will be conducting a session with Manish Gadia, a chartered accountant, to address the major issues regarding GST. Other sessions will be on time management, cross-selling, up-selling and optimising revenues with the available resources that an agency may have at their disposal.”

GPS Membership

GPS will launch the GPS membership card—‘GPS 10X Membership’ which will allow the cardholders to avail discounts on various products and services across India, informs Anand. “This is a virtual card and thus there is no need to carry it physically. It will be stored on the cardholder’s smartphones. We plan to offer the annual membership at a rate of `2000 + GST,” adds Anand. Those enrolling for GPS membership will have a full year access to the GPS App at no additional cost. All new tie-ups, offers and benefits would be available to the registered members.

New product launch

According to Anand, the highlight at GPS 2018 edition will be the launch of a complete travel management solution for the small and medium travel agencies. “The attendees will engage with two of our products—RainbowCTM and Trip38. Exhibitors in India and overseas will be able to promote their services and products to the Indian travel trade through the App as well as through the RainbowCTM platform. We expect this platform to be a game changer in the travel industry in the coming times. Trip38 would be a travel assistant tool for the agent’s client database. These products would be agent-friendly and may become one of the largest marketplaces for the travel industry and possibly the best source for travel trade-related information,” he explains.

EDWIN’18

In 2018, GPS is planning to conduct at least six Educational Destination Workshop International (EDWIN) to allow GPS attendees avail the opportunity to earn points and discounts. Bali is scheduled from March 5-10, where over 200 attendees are expected.