NEW DELHI:  UBM India successfully concluded the 2016 edition of SATTE in New Delhi with over 750 participants from over 35 countries and 28 Indian States. SATTE 2016 witnessed 28 per cent unprecedented visitor growth as compared to its previous editions.

The show was validated as an industry platform with the presence of Chief Guest Dr Mahesh Sharma, Union Minister of State for Tourism & Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Govt. of India along with eminent leaders from across the global tourism market. The inauguration of the event was also graced with the presence of Mr Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India; Mr Dayal DasBaghel, Tourism Minister of Chhattisgarh; Ms.  Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister for Tourism & Sport, Kingdom of Thailand, Ms. Alla Peressolova, Manager, Silk Road Programme| Fairs Programme, UNWTO and Subhash Goyal, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators amongst others.

Welcoming guests during the inauguration, Michael Duck, Executive Vice President, UBM Asia said, “India is today one of the world’s largest and fastest growing travel markets and it’s been a constant endeavour of ours to provide a platform for the inbound, domestic and outbound segments, and thus meeting the larger industry needs of India. Being the only composite travel and tourism show in this partof the world, SATTE provides platform to domestic and international buyers and professionals from across the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.”

Complementing UBM India in strong terms, Mahesh Sharma reiterated that the industry needs a trade platform such as SATTE that not only facilitate exchange of ideas but also create conducive atmosphere of global peace through right ‘communication.’ Complimenting SATTE and his Ministry for actively participating in the event, Sharma requested UBM India to share the outcome of the deliberation duringthe various SATTE conferences that his ministry can make use of in order to “upgrade, update and strengthen” itself. He also highlighted various government initiatives including that of making India a medical tourism hub and urged support from various industry stakeholders.

“As a home grown initiative, SATTE has come a long way. Considering the range of participation and interest which SATTE has been evoking over the years, it is today a major travel industry event in the South Asian region. Undoubtedly SATTE has enabled to form useful synergies and effective networks in travel and tourism sector across the sub-continent and is largely driven by the composite will of thetourism industry. Ministry of Tourism has given its full support to this prestigious event and Incredible India is a built in partner of SATTE,” Vinod Zutshi, Secretary – Tourism, Govt. of India said while congratulating UBM India for putting up another successful edition of SATTE 2016.

Hailing SATTE as a ‘comprehensive travel event’ and ‘one of the leading networking and business platform for the tourism in South Asia,’ UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai said, “SATTE will prove an ideal opportunity to address the issues and innovations that are currently shaping our sector. This will surely set the scene for years to come, and open immense opportunity in terms of inter-regional co-operation and inclusive business development.”

While inviting delegates at SATTE to explore the myriad hues of Thailand, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister for Tourism & Sport, Kingdom of Thailand said, “Our mission is to spread our tourism and this time we would like to introduce new destinations. We hope that the income coming from tourism will not only benefit the very few but to more.”

Whereas, Minister of Tourism, Government of Chhattisgarh called his state home to the ‘Niagara of India’ for its massive ‘Chitrakoot Fall.’ Baghel not only used the platform to effectively highlight Chhattisgarh’s diverse tourism offering but also invited the Indian and international delegates attending SATTE 2016 to explore the state.

Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, said: “Since UBM took over the show a few years ago, SATTE has made ‘international dimension’ and has kept both ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ happy. It is the event which every travel agent, every tour operator, every hotelier and every state tourism board looks forward to and it’s growing day by day.”

Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India while thanking the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Govt. of India, Country and State Tourism Boards, airlines, DMCs, hotels and the entire gamut of travel, tourism and hospitality suppliers for their continued support and enthusiastic participation at SATTE over the years, said, “Over the years, UBM India has been successfully playing the role of catalyst in promotingtourism in India and this year witnessed the continuation of the same”.

Growing tourism market and popularity of SATTE 

SATTE 2016 saw participation from State Tourism Boards including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Goa, J&K, Karnataka, Odisha and Rajasthan amongst others. The eight North Eastern states too participated under the Incredible India Pavilion of Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

Foreign Tourism Boards such as Brand USA, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Changi Airport (Singapore), Egypt, Mexico, Malaysia, Spain, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Israel, Thailand, Indonesia, Jordan, Turkey, Macau, Fiji, Bhutan, Cambodia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Romania and Russia amongst others were present at SATTE 2016. Representatives of Moscow Convention and Exhibition Centre and DMCs from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were also present at the show.

SATTE 2016 conference deliberated on industry potential, existing concerns and the future by exploring new frontiers amongst various industry stakeholders. Tourism Authority of Thailand, Tourism Malaysia, Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Indonesia Tourism, Brand USA, Cox &Kings, TUI India, Star Cruises, India Golf Tourism Association, Hotel Sahara Star, Amby Valley City, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India amongst others participated in the panel discussions.

The panel discussions included the following topics:

 The Relevance of Thematic Tourism Routes in Fostering Regional Collaboration and Prosperity

 Make in India and Tourism

 Niche Tourism in India: Challenges and Opportunities,

 Associations Today: Need to re-invent and re-orient to remain relevant and safeguard the member’s interest.

 India as a focus for NTOs

 Integrated Online Marketing & Distribution Strategy to Enhance Business.

Key takeaways of the conference sessions and panel discussions:

India

 India outbound today is not only one of the fastest growing travel markets in the world but is

also projected to be a 50 million strong outbound travel market by 2020.

 India grew by a little over four per cent in 2015 after a robust, 2014, when arrivals grew by over

10 per cent. Outbound travel has recorded over 10 per cent growth in 2013 and in 2014, when

outbound travel reached over 18.33 million, a number that is now estimated to have crossed

the 20 million mark in 2015, although the final number are still some time to come. On the

domestic front, the numbers are nearing a staggering 1500 million.

 Niche tourism products like Golf, Cruise, Yoga, Ayurveda are increasing so is the demand

signaling great opportunity for those prepared to leverage.

 There is need of skilled manpower, safety standards, responsible tourism and sustainability,

involving community, among others as essentials in order to send out a strong message about

India’s preparedness for its niche attractions.

  ‘Make in India’ can be imperative in achieving growth commensurate to India’s tourism

potential with the support of the private sector.

 States are working on tourism master plans keeping in mind the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

International

 Film Tourism; International tourism boards have hugely benefitted by attracting Indian films to

shoot.

 Thailand received 1.07 million Indian arrivals in 2015 recording a growth of 15 per cent over

2014.  Spending per trip per person has also increased by three per cent whereas average stay is

in the region seven days. India now ranks sixth in arrival from 10th position around six or seven

years ago.

 Malaysia attracted just 137,000 in 2004 which has climbed to 770,000 in 2014 spending about

2.2 billion Ringgit and recording an increase of 18 per cent in arrival and more than 19 per cent

in spending over 2013 figures.

 Indonesia received 270,000 Indian visitors but the country is looking at further growth prospects

from India.

 In case of Brand USA, windfall of its efforts have been fantastic thanks to its targeted plan and

‘Gateway + one’ formula for the Indian market, which has indicated that the destination might

have crossed one million mark in 2015. The arrival number until June 2015 shows a healthy

growth of about 18 per cent.

About UBM India

UBM India is India’s leading exhibition organizer that provides the industry with platforms that bring together buyers and sellers from around the world, through a portfolio of exhibitions, content led conferences & seminars. UBM India hosts over 25 large scale exhibitions and 40 conferences across the country every year; thereby enabling trade across multiple industry verticals. A UBM Asia Company,UBM India has offices across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. UBM Asia is owned by UBM plc which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. UBM Asia is the leading exhibition organizer in Asia and the biggest commercial organizer in mainland China, India and Malaysia. For further details, please visit ubmindia.in.