Kolkata plays host to 'Travel and Tourism Fair'

Over 375 participants have set up colourful pavilions and stalls at Netaji Indoor Stadium and the adjacent Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, for the three-day event on the weekend.

TTF Kolkata is India's oldest and largest travel trade show, which is now organised annually in 10 other cities in the country.

Participants from 13 countries and 25 Indian states  and union territories are selling at the TTF.

These include state tourism boards, national tourist offices, hoteliers, airlines, tour operators and travel agents, online travel companies, railways, cruises and other travel marketers.

First half of the show (i.e. Friday all day and Saturday till 2 pm) is reserved for the travel trade, after which it will be open to all on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday the entire day. 

Commenting on the occasion, West Bengal Tourism Minister, Bratya Basu said, “I hope this TTF Kolkata will carry potential in terms of business growth in tourism sector in our state and in the Eastern part of India, showcasing domestic and international tourism as major engine for economic growth, creation of employment and promotion of peace and harmony across nations and states.”

“Keeping with the positive sentiments in the tourism industry, TTF Kolkata has grown by 25%, compared to last year. This is significant considering the large size of the show, spread in Netaji and Khudiram” said Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media, the organiser of TTF.

"The TTF series with more than 10 shows annually across India provides an important tourism marketing impetus, to make investments in tourism more viable," he added.

Fairfest Media is the organiser of the TTF & OTM shows. It organises every year TTF branded shows started in Kolkata (in 1989), in Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune, Goa and Guwahati (July-November) followed by Chennai, Bengaluru and New Delhi (January-February), in addition to the grand finale OTM Mumbai in February.

Pavilions have been put up by Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and of course the Host State West Bengal to cater to the local tourists.

China, Bangladesh and Nepal are participating as the Partner Countries.

Thailand, New Zealand and Jordan are present as Feature Countries.

TTF Kolkata also has participation from Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu.

Among other countries Bhutan, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Turkey and Uzbekistan are also represented.

India Tourism is also participating with a large pavilion in TTF Kolkata as always.

Major exhibitors include MakeMytrip, Adlabs Imagica, OYO Rooms, IRCTC, Make Plans Holidays, The Peerless Inn, The Pride Hotel, Nicco Park & Resorts, Bodoland Tourism, Mountain Trails, Travel Shoppe Turkey, Thomas Cook and many more.

To enhance and showcase their respective offerings, participating states and countries at TTF Kolkata will present daily cultural events and marketing presentations to trade visitors and the media.

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism and Uttarakhand Tourism are organising special road shows on the side-lines of TTF Kolkata to woo Bengali tourists. Their main thrust is now West Bengal.

Nepal Tourism Board is not only making a significant appearance after the earthquake, but also will address travel trade and media for tourism revival.

New Zealand and Jordan are the two new countries making debut in TTF Kolkata giving chance to explore new exotic destinations.

During the three days of TTF Kolkata, there will be special networking sessions by top travel associations where their members will discuss their own issues to find solutions contributing to the big picture.

And West Bengal Tourism’s new promotional branding Experience Bengal will be seen for the first time in action at TTF Kolkata.

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism is also organising Kashmir Food Festival at TTF Kolkata to give visitors a taste of their culinary delights.

The TTF series has important value additions like pre-registration for trade visitors, more travel trade engagements, focus on B2B, etc. The specially branded section, Outbound Village @ TTF helps expand the outbound presence.

TTF is supported by Incredible India, OTOAI, ATOAI, ADTOI, IATO and IAAI.

TTF’s organiser Fairfest is a member of PATA, TAAI, IEIA and IAEE.

Travel News Digest is the official trade publication of TTF.

From here, TTF will travel to West India (September – October) covering Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune, Goa and will visit North East (Guwahati) in November.

Taking further the objective of developing and growing new markets, TTF Goa has been launched in October 2015, with strong support from the host state, Goa. The venue will be the recently built Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium inside the campus of Goa University, Talegaon.

25 Awardees will receive the recognition and walk the show on the inaugural day. In addition, an equal number of sellers participating in the show will be awarded, on the concluding day.