After losing the 2020 event to the Covid-19 pandemic, FAITH has decided to go ahead with the 2021 edition of India Tourism Mart (ITM) in virtual format. The ‘curtain raiser’ event is scheduled on Feb 18-20. However, the federation will also explore possibility of the physical edition at a later time but not ‘before September’ according to Subhash Goyal, Honorary Secretary of FAITH and Chairman, ITM.
Importantly, the event will also have the domestic component for the first time since the show began in 2018. “This will be a curtain raiser for the actual event which will take place later on. We have incorporated the domestic element which was not there in earlier editions because this time around the only thing that is keeping tourism industry alive right now is domestic tourism because borders are still closed,” Goyal said.
Another showcase will be virtual knowledge tourism conclave. “We will have a very important ‘knowledge conclave’ that will have parallel sessions on Adventure tourism, domestic tourism, MICE and medical tourism. We will invite the best global experts, like Naresh Trehan for Medical Tourism, to speak on various tourism subjects and motivate people,” Goyal added.
According to the press communication on the forthcoming event, the virtual edition will witness online B2B interactions between Indian tourism exhibitors and an elite group of global buyers who will be carefully selected from over 90 countries. The domestic buyers will comprise of a mix of tourism trade, corporate and institutional tourism buyers.
