SATTE 2013: Catalyst for India's Tourism

New Delhi (ots/PRNewswire) -

Top industry players view the 20th edition of SATTE, to be held
in New Delhi from 16-18 January 2013 and in Mumbai from 21-22 January
2013, as the most sought after travel and tourism event in South
Asia.

Over the years SATTE has received tremendous response from
national tourism boards, Indian states, hotel chains, airlines and
tourism products from across the globe. SATTE has always played a
vital role in promoting diverse segments of tourism and has now
evolved as a leading travel event in South Asia. The vast
participation of many major Indian and global players and the
presence of the who's who from the travel industry is testimony to
the importance the travel and tourism industry gives to SATTE. Sajid
Desai, Group Director, UBM India, is quite bullish about SATTE 2013.
"India's tourism has consistently been growing at a rapid pace. While
foreign tourist arrivals during January-September witnessed a growth
of 5.9 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011, outbound and
domestic tourism are notching a growth of 12 per cent." He further
added that the recent measures taken by the Government of India, such
as FDI in aviation and the intention of extending Visa-on-Arrival
facility to a few more countries, are further going to provide
impetus to the Indian tourism industry. "The Prime Minister is quite
hopeful of achieving the GDP growth rate of eight per cent during the
12th Five Year Plan. We all know that tourism always grows at twice
the GDP growth rate of any country."

While the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has already
confirmed their participation in SATTE 2013, State Tourism Boards
such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Goa and Lakshwadeep have confirmed their participation at
SATTE 2013. Other states including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Kerala, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra,
Odisha, West Bengal among others are also in the process of
confirming their participation.

NTOs of over 33 countries including Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Bhutan,
Botswana, Brand USA, China, Dubai, Egypt , Ethiopia, Fiji Islands,
Germany, Hungary, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jordan, Japan, Kenya, Korea,
Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, New Zealand, Oman,
Seychelles, Singapore's Changi Airport, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand,
Turkey among many others have either confirmed or are in the process
of confirming their participation at SATTE 2013.

This year, the participation of countries, states and tourism
products are quite encouraging. Some of the key exhibitors; including
Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, Maldives and Indonesia among others have
increased their stand size considerably, and several more have
evinced their interests for the same. "The Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT) and the Thai travel trade are expecting to meet more
potential buyers and travel trade partners from India at SATTE 2013
at our stand no. 1159. We would like to thank the Indian travel trade
and media for supporting Thailand. This year, TAT has a much larger
space, and buyers will meet more partners from the popular
destinations in Thailand, as well a variety of services and
products." said Runjuan Tongrut, Director, Tourism Authority of
Thailand (TAT), Delhi office.

Similarly, Singapore's Changi Airport, which is participating in
SATTE for the first time, is further creating awareness about their
facilities and services in Indian market through SATTE. "Singapore
Changi Airport is participating in SATTE for the first time together
with the Singapore Tourism Board, inbound travel operators,
attractions and hoteliers under a Singapore Pavilion. India, being
one of the top five visitor arrival source markets for Singapore and
the seventh largest market for Changi Airport in 2011, is an
important market for us," said Peh Ke-Wei, Vice President, Passenger
Development, Changi Airport Group and added that our partners and we
look forward to SATTE 2013 being an excellent B2B platform to
strengthen our presence here, as well as network with key Indian
travel buyers."

Arturo Ortiz, Tourism Counsellor, Spain Tourism Board said "We
have been very happy with SATTE and the success can be measured
considering the size of the event and the size of our stand there.
Even though we have had budget restrictions in Spain, SATTE Delhi is
one of the top 10 exhibitions in which we will keep participating. At
SATTE 2013, we will have representatives from both Madrid and
Barcelona, plus we will be promoting cruises. We will have at least 8
Spanish DMC's from Madrid and Barcelona and also from Andalusia
present."

SATTE has received the support of World Tourism Organization
UNTWO and International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) along with
leading tourism associations of India such as the Association of
Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Association of Tourism
Trade Organisations India (ATTOI), Enterprising Travel Agents
Association (ETAA), Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Association of
India (FHRAI), Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), IATA
Agents Association of India (IAAI), Travel Agents Association of
India (TAAI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) and Outbound
Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI).

While the participation of countries, states and tourism products
is quite encouraging, the number for registered buyers is also
increasing with every passing day - 542 registered National buyers
and 168 International buyer applications has been received besides
business visitors. SATTE has revamped its buyer programme this year
to offer an incentivised pre-scheduled appointments system that
allows for buyers to schedule appointments ensuring the opportunity
to get business done on the show floor. Desai expects a growth of 15
percent in terms of nett space and buyers for SATTE 2013. "I urge the
stakeholders of the tourism industry and tourism associations to come
forward and extend their support to SATTE 2013 to make it a grand
success. I am thankful to all associations, hoteliers, airlines,
NTOs, State Tourism Boards, tourism products and the Ministry of
Tourism, Government of India for supporting SATTE over the years,"
added Desai.

About UBM India

UBM India is a subsidiary of UBM plc, which is the second largest
independent exhibition organiser in the world. It is the largest
trade exhibition organiser in India, responsible for 26 exhibitions
in different locations across the country. The company is also
involved in the organisation of conference programmes throughout
India and in the publications of trade journals and magazines.

Media Contact:
Jayesh Kanaskar
Email: jayesh.kanaskar@ubm.com
UBM India Pvt Ltd.
119, Sagar Tech Plaza - A, Saki Naka Junction
Andheri -Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai - 400 072, India
Tel: +91-22-67692400
Fax: +91-22-67692426
Mobile: +91-9819586780
Event URL http://www.satte.in
Website: http://www.ubmindia.in

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