The second edition of Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart (RDTM) organised from July 22nd-24th, achieved a remarkable success in setting the tone for a robust growth in the tourism and hospitality sector of Rajasthan during post pandemic era.
The Mart has successfully restored stakeholders’ confidence in the revival of tourism post the struggles of the pandemic – Covid-19.
Speaking on the learning from the Mart, Apurv Kumar, President Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan said, “The success of the Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart has well-exceeded expectations and come close to pre-pandemic levels. It has received wide acclaim from all the stakeholders who attended the Mart and are eagerly looking to be part of the next edition.”
While elaborating more on this Kumar further said, “RDTM has aptly put forward a message of courage, support and creativity for the sector, that was most affected during the pandemic. It has breathed new life and provided a sign of confidence that the travel and tourism industry is most resilient and will revive with flying colours.”
While speaking as the Chief Guest at the inaugural session, Rajasthan Art & Culture Minister, Dr BD Kalla said except for sea and snow, the State of Rajasthan has a number of tourism products; i.e. heritage, history, weddings, culture, wildlife, adventure, fair & festivals, weddings for all kind of travellers.
The Minister further said, “Under the dynamic leadership and guidance of the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the Tourism sector has got a historical budget of 1000cr for the first time. Apart from that, ‘Industry Status’ has been given to the hospitality sector of Rajasthan which was a long pending demand from the stakeholders. Film Tourism Policy – unveiled today, along with other tourism related policies are visionary and will go a long way in promoting Rajasthan as a preferred tourism destination in India.”
Almost 200 exhibitors from across the state of Rajasthan showcased their tourism products and interacted with 400 buyers from pan-India and 150 buyers from Rajasthan at the mega travel event. Spread over three floors of the spacious halls of Birla Auditorium, numerous tourism product owners were in attendance, staging their wide range of hotels, resorts, travel companies, amusement parks, etc.
The second edition has registered around 9000 pre-structured B2B meetings between buyers and sellers over the course of two days at the Birla Auditorium. “Apart from registered buyers, a larger number of non-registered buyers also attended the travel mart and engaged in fruitful networking,” informed FHTR President.
Eminent speakers were a part of a wide range of ‘Knowledge Sessions’ organised first time for detailed discussions and exchanging valuable information on various facets of tourism such as Cultural Tourism in Western Rajasthan, Rural, Agro Tourism, Scope of Medical Tourism in Rajasthan, Medical Tourism and Ayurveda, etc.
A large number of VIPs attended the Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart 2022 over the course of three days. These included – the Rajasthan Minister of Art & Culture, Dr B.D. Kalla; Rajasthan Minister of Industries, Shakuntala Rawat; Chief Secretary, Government of Rajasthan, Usha Sharma; Principal Secretary, Rajasthan Tourism, Gayatri Rathore; Director of Tourism, Rashmi Sharma; Chairman of Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation (RSIC), Rajiv Arora; President Emeritus, Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA), Gaj Singh, and Chairman of RTDC, Dharmendra Rathore.
