Continuing in its bid to revive tourism revenues, Gujarat Tourism has announced the third edition of the Gujarat Travel Mart to invite overseas buyers and exhibitors. The 3-day tours and travel festival will be held at the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Center, Gandhinagar. The dates finalized for Mart are 31st March and  1st & 2nd April 2013. “Gujarat has achieved an annual industrial growth rate of 10.4 percent over the last five years and is one of the largest contributors to India’s tourist arrivals.

GTM is one of the most sought-after B2B trade exhibitions in the country and the perfect platform for industry stakeholders to foster business ties. This year’s edition is expected to be bigger compared to previous years and will witness the participation of over 250 hosted buyers, which include 100 international buyers from more than 30 countries,” stated Sanjay Kaul (IAS), Managing Director, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd.

The Mart will feature more than 20 travel segments and will induce participation from 200+ exhibitors from 30 countries including the Kingdom of Bahrain, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Greece, France, Japan, Israel, Norway, Lithuania, South Africa, Poland, UAE, Sri Lanka, USA, UK and South Africa. Subhash Verma, President, of ADTOI, said, “Gujarat Travel Mart is a professional platform to showcase Gujarat Tourism.

We have adopted a strategy to promote the state and in collaboration with our Gujarat Chapter we aim to launch the State Specialist Plan at the Mart, which is a one-week training programme to enhance the knowledge of the travel trade about attractions and destinations of Gujarat thus enabling them sell the state more effectively.”

Exhibitors participating at the Gujarat Travel Mart will include National Tourism Offices, trade associations, state tourism boards, travel agents, airlines, cruise liners, car rentals, DMCs, online travel agents, resorts, hotels, luxury trains, MICE operators, cruises and independent tour operators.

Medical tourism will also make its presence felt and will be represented by a number of medical tour operators from India and abroad. Organizers are anticipating a 25000+ footfall and sound business and networking opportunities for all participants.