Networking rules the roost at ITB

Team India showed up with great strength at ITB Berlin, held from March 7-11. While the India pavilion was a melting pot of cultural shows and activities, participants from India rued about dipping footfalls.

Peden Doma Bhutia from Berlin

Nitin Jawale, Director, Tourism & Managing Director, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation

The first day was very productive as we were busy with appointments. Since we finished most of our engagements on the first day, the second day was relatively more relaxed with meetings scheduled for the day. We had pre-booked meetings on tour operators and people who could help us with driving in more tourists to the state. We have also been meeting the media and promotional agencies. ITB is one of the most important markets that we look forward to participating in every year.

Venkatesh B, Executive Director, Jungle Lodges and Resorts, Government of Karnataka

We’ve been participating at ITB Berlin for the last seven to eight years and it’s a good experience to be here. We hope to get some good response from the buyers here. Karnataka has an abundance of natural resources and our heritage and wildlife tourism are great attractions for tourists, we also want to promote our beaches. Right now we want to promote Karnataka all over Europe, so we aren’t focusing on a particular region. We do not expect an immediate result from this fair, but it will gradually start percolating.

Ravi Gosain, Managing Director, Erco Travels

ITB was fruitful for networking with our existing clients and promoting products to European tour operators. We have been attending ITB for over a decade. However, the organisers must now rethink their approach and bring in more buyers to the fair, else it will lose its charm. The exhibitors spend time and money with the expectation that they get the opportunity for new business as well as gain knowledge on global travel trends. The way we were doing business before is not the same as the business environment is now fast changing. Therefore, traditional travel fairs like ITB should work to retain its importance.

Kapil Goswamy, Managing Director, Trans India Holidays

Trans India Holidays has been a regular exhibitor at ITB Berlin, and as in the past, this year too we had a successful ITB. With increased interest in India amongst travellers and FTOs, we were able to meet several new operators looking to include the Indian subcontinent amongst the list of destinations that they promote. Being the largest show in Europe, it serves as an important meeting ground with both old and new agents, not only from Germany and Western Europe but also for establishing relationships with agents from Eastern, Central European and other emerging markets.

Gaurav Chiripal, Chief Executive Officer, QuadLabs

ITB Berlin is one of the most important shows for us to meet our clients and various trade partners. The show provides us with a great exposure in the European market and also helps to generate a substantial number of leads for us. In my opinion, India is increasingly becoming one of the top destinations for European customers and this show, in turn, helps the Indian travel trade to showcase our heritage and culture to the global audience. This is how we promote the destination and welcome more travellers to our country.

Riyaaz UC, Managing Director, Spiceland Holiday

Things picked up only on the second day. Usually, most buyers come to us with pre-fixed appointments, but we expected footfalls from other visitors as well. What I’ve noticed is that this year, the footfall from around the entire Asia area has been very less. Destinations like Europe or even the Middle East are a lot more in demand. Only Sri Lanka has been doing fairly well in the entire Asian region. ITB is helpful for our business as it is a common platform to meet our partners and agents, and help us plan for the future. Beyond that, we haven’t really been able to expect much.

Bharat Bhushan Atree, Managing Director, Caper Travel Company

Set up over two decades ago, Caper has evolved geographically during the last decade. We neither have any foreign shareholding or venture capitalist as is much the inclination today nor are we under the umbrella of any foreign brand or travel inheritance history. This makes marketing one of the foremost activities for us. Participating in tourism fairs around the world provides us with a platform to make our presence felt in the industry, network with stakeholders, establish new leads and, launch new products and brochures. At ITB 2018, we have had many fruitful meetings with partners and suppliers and secured new contacts. The global mart also helps us understand the new trends, markets, forecasts of demand and new technologies in the tourism industry.  We intend to put in place all that we have set in motion at ITB and thus derive value from our participation.

Shubhangi N, General Manager—Sales & Marketing, GRT Hotels & Resorts

With many FTOs working with us, it always feels great to meet them to get a feel of the market, get new itineraries and understand the overall business from Europe. We also need to update them on the new products in our portfolio. India tourism should make sure that we get to meet the relevant people during such large-scale exhibitions. With the right contacts, they can ensure that at least 15-20 good buyers can come and meet us. So far, whatever leads we receive is through what we ourselves do. It is important for us to know about any new buyer or operator who have entered the field. There should be some form of appointment system where we can go and book our appointments.