By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is delighted to announce that India will be hosting the 46th edition of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart 2023 at the magnificent International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi.
The Mart is scheduled to take place from October 4th to 6th 2023, bringing together tourism professionals and business stakeholders from across the world. The physical version of the Travel Mart is being held after a hiatus of three years due to the pandemic.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) founded in 1951, with its Head Quarters in Bangkok, is a renowned not-for-profit association recognized internationally for its role as a catalyst in the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region. PATA Travel Mart is one of the important international trade exhibitions catering to the tourism sector and it serves as a platform for trade interactions between global buyers and sellers mostly from the Asia Pacific region. The Mart will bring together exhibitors and attendees from diverse sectors, offering a unique platform for networking, learning and collaboration.
This year the event will feature different activities, including the prestigious PATA Gold Award, the PATA Youth Symposium, PATA Forum on Sustainability besides the B2B Mart. The event is being held at the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, which was inaugurated in September and is one of India’s most recent and iconic exhibition venues. As the venue of the G20 Leaders` Summit, it hosted the world leaders from across the globe.
The success of the G 20 Summit held this year has already placed India as one of the sought after destinations for hosting larger scale events and Conferences. With its sustainable and inclusive tourism activities, India is fast becoming the preferred choice destination for organizing MICE events. The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (NDLD) while recommitting to achieving SDGs has highlighted the crucial role of tourism and culture as a means for sustainable socio-economic development and economic prosperity, and noted the Goa Roadmap for Tourism as one of the vehicles for achieving the SDGs. Recently,
Ministry of Tourism, on the occasion of World Tourism Day on 27th September, also globally launched the sustainable program of Travel for LiFE, under the aegis of Mission LiFE, targeted towards the tourism sector, promoting tourists to follow a responsible behaviour while travelling.
India is also participating in the PATA Travel Mart in a substantial manner. A designated pavilion for India at the Mart will create an immersive experience of the gamut of destinations in India both known and lesser known. Other State Governments such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh and other in line Ministries such as Handlooms Development Commissioner are also putting up stands and stalls for displaying their products. Although the Mart is an exclusively B2B Mart, it will help bring forth the diverse gamut of thematic products such as wellness, adventure, heritage, culinary and art and craft of the different States to a global audience.