PATA Travel Mart returns to India

The Pacific Asia Travel Association will host PATA Travel Mart 2011, September 6-9 in New Delhi, India, a market where outbound travel has averaged annual growth of 12% over the last five years and where foreign inbound arrivals are already up by 11.5% so far this year.

Since the last PATA Travel Mart was held in New Delhi in 1993, the city has grown dramatically to become the fifth largest in the world by population. The 2010 Commonwealth Games paved the way for major improvements to the city’s infrastructure and heritage buildings. New Delhi now has a thoroughly revamped airport with a new Terminal 3. 

India’s transformation as a market and destination has created unprecedented opportunities, said Shri Rajen Habib Khwaja, Secretary Tourism, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. “India today has emerged as a major 365-day destination and a source market presenting huge opportunities. With new state-of-the-art infrastructure and additional room capacity in place, there is no better time to host PATA Travel Mart in India's capital,” he said.

 “The PATA Travel Mart is at the right time and in the right place for tourism suppliers who want to capture their share of this new growth and build the business,” said PATA Interim CEO, Bill Calderwood.

PATA Travel Mart 2011 will also feature a kaleidoscope of exotic and modern Indian travel products, indicative of a destination that has only skimmed the surface of its inbound tourism potential.

It is a view shared by the National Association of Travel Agents in Singapore (NATAS). 

 “India has so much to offer,” said Susan Teng, the NATAS Outbound Chairperson. “India has it all from palace hotels to temples, deserts to skiing in the mountains, swimming and diving at beautiful beaches, boat houses in Kerala and Kashmir, luxurious camps in national parks, luxurious train journeys, and a diverse range of accommodation -- from budget to top five-star properties and spa resorts.”

She added: “I believe now is the right time to see firsthand all that New Delhi and India has to offer our customers today.”

PATA Travel Mart has also adapted its format to acknowledge India’s heritage. To showcase luxury and boutique hotels such as former palaces, royal lodges and colonial hill stations, PATA has created a dedicated luxury and boutique hotel pavilion at the Mart for the first time.