Informa Markets in India which recently organised the 27th edition of SATTE, South Asia’s leading travel trade exhibition, witnessed the presence of more than 35,000 travel and tourism professionals during the three days of the show. SATTE 2020 had over 1,100 exhibitors, 200 foreign buyers from over 50 + countries and 500+ domestic hosted buyers from 104 Indian cities.
The marquee expo was inaugurated by Chief Guest Prahalad Singh Patel, Union Minister for State for Tourism & Culture (I/C), Government of India along with key dignitaries including; Mansukh L Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for Shipping, Govt. of India;, YB Tuan Muhammad Bakhtiar bin Wan Chik, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia; Nia Niscaya, Deputy Minister of Tourism Marketing, Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia; Michael Goh, President, Dream Cruises & Head of International Sales, Genting Cruise Lines; Subhash Goyal, Honorary. Secretary, FAITH; Michael Duck, Executive Vice President- Asia, Informa Markets; Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India and Pallavi Mehra, Group Director, Informa Markets in India, amidst an august gathering.
With a focus on building new business partnerships and announcements, the three-day expo discussed about the current trends in the industry. Keeping up with their annual promise, SATTE 2020 also delivered an exciting line-up of conferences to enlighten the industry by addressing the challenges faced and opportunities that Indian tourism offers.
This year as well, SATTE received support from international organizations/associations and Indian travel trade associations such as Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA), Skal, TOFTigers and Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) amongst others.
Inaugurating the exhibition, Patel said, “SATTE 2020 is the 27th edition of the event which is proof that we are thinking and moving continuously ahead for the betterment of the tourism sector. I would like to congratulate SATTE for achieving this feat and thank them for giving representation to the beautiful states such as of Leh-Ladakh in their esteemed event. India is the only country that has a different cultural identity across dimensions and geography. Events like these showcase our rich culture in a great way. I hope foreign guests and visitors attending the event get a glimpse of our country.”
Mandaviya added, “I would like to congratulate the organisers of this tremendous travel event. From the shipping ministry perspective, cruise tourism amongst Indians has become very popular; India’s coastal line boasts of 7,500 kms which increases immense potential for cruise tourism. Keeping this in mind, we have built International cruise terminals such as the one in Mumbai. A few in Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Paradip and Kolkatta are in the pipeline as the ministry and its stakeholders are continuously working to build the tourism sector.”
Welcoming the delegates of SATTE 2020, Mudras said, “Despite the current economic and political crackdown, tourism industry still remains one of the fastest growing sectors. The reason for this could be government initiatives like e-visa, which has helped in attracting various international tourists. Under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, 13 thematic circuits in the country have been selected for development of tourism infrastructure with an aim to boost domestic and international travel.”
Mudras informed that SATTE 2020 was largest version of SATTE due to outstanding participation. “It has always been an insightful exhibition for us because of its ambitious nature. It has emerged as one of South Asia’s largest international travel shows that both the exhibitors and buyers from across the world participate to showcase as well as shop for the diverse global travel and tourism products and services. Not only tourism, SATTE has the potential to harness rural development as well. The overwhelming response from the exhibitors and the upcoming discussions at the conference related to trending subjects like Tourism and Jobs, Corporate Travel, simplification of e-visas, destination weddings etc. will provide great insight into the industry. Through SATTE, we hope to provide viable solutions to help businesses thrive in the ever-evolving industry over the three days,” he further added.
