Gurugram hosts 2nd Travel Business Show

The 2nd edition of Travel Business Show, an exclusive MICE event, was held at the Le Méridien Gurgaon. Ma. Teresita C. Daza, Ambassador of Philippines to India, the chief guest for the evening, inaugurated the show and spoke about the enormous tourism opportunities between the two countries.

KANCHAN NATH

1800 meetings & more

The second edition of Travel Business Show witnessed productive meetings taking place from December 2-3, 2017, at the Le Meridien Gurgaon. Serious B2B meetings between 30 exhibitors and 30 corporate buyers were held during the afternoon session of the first day. On the second day, one-on-one B2B meetings took place between 30 exhibitors and 30 MICE agents.

Philippines Airlines is assessing the possibility of establishing direct flights to India. We hope this pushes through so that we can provide huge tourism benefits for India & Philippines

Engaging discussions

The inauguration was followed by an engrossing panel discussion on Meetings Incentives Conferences and Events (MICE), moderated by Priti Khanna, Director, DDP Publications. The discussion involved different stakeholders of the MICE industry to share key inputs on experiential MICE. The eminent panelists included Tekla Maira, Director Luxury Sales –India, AccorHotels; Homa Mistry, CEO, Trail Blazer Tours; Kiran Thomas, AVP, Administration and Global Travel, Sutherland Global Services and Ismail A Hamid Amer, Regional Director, Egyptian Tourism Counsellor.

MICE in Philippines

Tourism and MICE continue to be great contributors to every nation’s economy, said Ma. Teresita C. Daza. “In the third quarter of 2017, the Philippines’ economy grew by 6.9 per cent. Travel and tourism contributed about 8.6 per cent to thecountry’s GDP in 2016. The top source markets for the Philippines from Asia include China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Currently, India is the 12th largest source market for the Philippines. Many Indians visit Manila, Cebu, Palawan, Angeles and Boracay,” she informed. “In 2016, the record of Indian arrivals in the Philippines was 90,000, which is an average of about 246 Indian passengers per day. This number of Indian arrivals is very encouraging, despite visa requirements for Indians travelling to the Philippines,” she added. Giving a synopsis of mega MICE events in the Philippines, Daza said, “Aside leisure travel, the Philippines has also been witnessing an immense contribution of MICE segment into the growth of the Philippines tourism industry. The Philippines successfully conducted the ‘Miss Universe Contest’ earlier this year. More importantly in November, the Philippines hosted the 31st ASEAN Summit and related conferences in Manila. During the whole swing of these events, delegates from ASEAN and its partners were shuffled to various destinations in world class infrastructure, while being pampered with Filipino hospitality.”

To provide better visa services to Indians, the Philippines has already instituted a 14-day free visa for Indians, who are holders of visas for USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, Schengen, Singapore and the UK, from all international airports and seaports of the country. Mulling prospects to enhance connectivity between the destinations, Daza added, “Further, the Philippines Airlines is also assessing the possibility of establishing direct flights to India. We are hoping this plan will soon push through so that we can provide huge tourism and economic benefits for both the Philippines and India.”