Guest of honour Achim Fabig, Consul General, Federal Republic of Germany in Mumbai, together with David Ruetz, Senior Vice President, Messe Berlin, and Stefan Halusa, Director General at Indo-German Chamber of Commerce will usher the opening of ITB India 2023 with a traditional lamp lighting and ribbon cutting ceremony. The promising exhibitior participation facilitates business meetings and drives engagement for attendees from around the world through ITB India’s live format. The various representations by destinations are impressive and feature stands of Spain, France, Germany, Sarajevo, Vietnam, Iceland, Thailand, Fiji, Japan and many more.
Being an international stage, the exhibition will also feature many global national tourism organisations (NTOs) including Atout France India, German National Tourist Office, Saxony Tourism, Tourist Office of Roissy, Tourist Office of Spain and Visit Sarajevo. International airlines, hotels, travel agencies and tour operators are also highly represented with their products at this year’s show, they will include AVIS, Collinson Group, Fiji Airways, Mize, IDeaS, Prince Hotels & Resorts, TravelLine, Uzbekistan Airways and Vietnam Airlines to name just a few.
“With less than a week to go before ITB India open its doors, the number of bookings and the feedback we are receiving from industry experts in discussions underline that all signs point to a successful live premiere. I am convinced that ITB India will help create the best possible business opportunities for all participants and accelerate the international recovery and upswing. The Indian and South Asian outbound travel markets are becoming increasingly important for many countries: ITB India is simply an unmissable event, and I am delighted that the show happens 100 per cent live”, says Sonia Prashar, Deputy Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.
“Connecting You to the Indian Travel Market” will be the overarching theme of the conference, where high-level experts will exchange their insights into the future of the industry. As part of the exciting keynote line up on Day 1 (26 April 2023), Daniel D’souza, President & Country Head, Leisure, SOTC Travel Limited and Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus India will address the future of travel and give strategic insights to South Asia’s tourism reboot.
Knowledge Theatre: Leaders in the industry gather to share their insights and thought leadership
In the “Hospitality Leaders’ Panel: Adapt and Grow”, senior level speakers including Parveen Chander, Executive Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), Vikramjit Singh, President, Lemon Tree Hotels, Amit Sidana, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Pride Group of Hotels, Vivek Shukla, CEO, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and Nikhil Sharma, Market Managing Director, Eurasia Region, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts will share their thoughts on how the hospitality industry has adapted and transformed to stay relevant and grow in a new world of travel. This session will be moderated by Aindrila Mitra, Editor-in-chief, Travel + Leisure India & South Asia.
The growth of India’s unique accommodation market has opened up opportunities for micro-entrepreneurship and deeper connections with local communities. Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, General Manager for India, SEA, HK and Taiwan, Airbnb, will talk about “Responsible Tourism – Key to Resurgence of the Travel Industry”.
In the session named “Travel Influencer Marketing: The Good, the Bad and the Brilliant”, Megna Shankaranarayanan, Industry Head – Travel & FoodTech, Google, will highlight the growing importance of video in the discovery, research and planning phases of a traveler’s purchase journey
In the “NTOs’ Talks: Destination Rediscoveries”, leaders from NTOs across the region and beyond share insights and plans for their destinations to come back stronger than before. Key speakers of the NTOs Talk series will include Sheetal Munshaw, Director of India, Atout France, Romit Theophilus, Managing Director, German National Tourism Organisation, GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager – India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, Vishal Bhatia, Country Manager – India, VisitBritain and Sara Sodhi Juneja, Country Head – India & UAE, Visit Finland.
Tags: MICE Show India, Sonia Prashar, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, ITB India 2023
