Maharashtra CM inaugurates OTM 2015

Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister (CM) of Maharashtra, inaugurated OTM 2015 yesterday at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, Goregaon in Mumbai. He was the Chief Guest at the event. Speaking about OTM, he said, “I would like to congratulate OTM for successfully organising a travel trade show of this magnitude. Both Indian and international tourism are set to get a huge boost out of this show. MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) too has participated as we have a special focus on promoting Maharashtra as a destination and by participating in this show, tourism in the state will get a boost.”

Over a thousand travel-product sellers from 50 countries are exhibiting at OTM 2015 and over 10,000 buyers from the travel industry are expected at the three-day event. Pavilions at this year’s OTM are from Turkey, New Zealand, Mexico, Dubai, Japan, Thailand, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Philippines, Macau, China, Argentina, Oman, Bangladesh, Seychelles, Jordan, Bhutan, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Taiwan, among others.

Besides Maharashtra, Indian states and union territories that are exhibiting at the show include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala, Daman & Diu, Karnataka, Punjab, Goa, and Jammu & Kashmir.

Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces, Best Western, SriLankan Airlines, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Adlabs Imagica, Ark Travels, and Heena Holidays are some of the participants at OTM 2015. For the first time, Adventure Tour Operators’ Association of India (ATOAI) will be participating in the show with an Adventure Tourism Pavilion, comprising tour operators. Business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions/Conferences and Exhibitions) segments are also being represented at OTM 2015 with a show called BTM (Business Travel and MICE).

In a first, an OTM Kuoni Knowledge Series, devoted to mastering the challenges and opportunities within the travel industry, is being held. Through various sessions, Kuoni India will discuss the best travel practices and the solutions that expertise and research could bring to new-age travel, especially to fast-growing and emerging markets.

The annual Top 100 Travel Producers Awards will also be included in this year’s programme schedule of OTM. The nominations for the awards are restricted to those travel producers based in India who have a high buying potential of outbound or domestic products for their Indian clientele.

OTM 2015 will be closely followed by Travel & Tourism Fair (TTF) Delhi, which will be held at Thyagaraj Sports Complex from February 10 to 12. Most of the international and domestic participants of OTM 2015 are expected at TTF.