OTM Mumbai has emerged as the largest travel trade show in the AsiaPacific region.
On the two parameters – the number of participants and gross exhibition area rented by the organisers, OTM has gained an edge over ITB Asia and SATTE; the other two leading shows in the Asia Pacific region.
OTM also had participants from a larger number of countries (45) when compared to SATTE (40), as per publicly available information that can be verified.
According to a visitor survey, approximately 76% of the trade visitors at OTM 2017 did not visit any other show in India.
It shows OTM is visited by unique buyers from Western India and Mumbai, not accessible through any other show.
Approximately a quarter of OTM’s buyers are from outside Mumbai, out of which half are from Delhi.
This data shows that OTM is also effective in providing access to trade buyers and visitors from all over India.
The upcoming edition of OTM 2018 will be organised from January 18-20, at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is expected to maintain the lead in 2018 as well.
Turkey, Greece and Thailand are three biggest country pavilions, returning to OTM in 2018. The leading tour operator in the country – Cox & Kings has signed up with OTM for the next three years, as the Knowledge Partner.
Global leader in hotel marketing technology – Google has partnered to organise CMO workshops on the sidelines of OTM 2018.
The National Tourist Organisations (NTOs) of Palestine, Japan, New Zealand, Maldives, Russia, Tanzania, Bhutan, Korea, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nepal, Zagreb and Croatia will be exhibiting with large country pavilions.
Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar and Andhra Pradesh are also setting up large state pavilions. Many more states are joining shortly.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has planned for the first time a mega publicity exercise at OTM for promoting North-Eastern destinations.
TravHQ has partnered with OTM to organise Travel Technology Track, with sessions on innovative travel tech solutions, panel discussions with industry thought-leaders and digital skill development workshops.
“We have shared a close bond with OTM Mumbai for a long time now and with this “Travel Technology Track,” we aim to empower the travel industry further.
“Through this, we will be highlighting the future of travel across segments. Innovators and unique travel agencies using the Internet of Things will give short presentations this time.
“There will be captivating panel discussions from hoteliers who are maximising revenue through digital marketing, presentation of case studies and workshops for MICE agents and boutique hoteliers,” stated Daksh Sharma, Managing Partner, TravHQ.
India is ranked among one of the fastest emerging travel destinations in the world as Indians continue to take more than a billion domestic and 20 million international visits annually.
Fuelling this growth, Mumbai serves as a gateway city to 60% of India’s outbound market, making it the largest hub of inbound and outbound, business, luxury, and MICE travel in India.
This is the main reason behind the emergence of OTM as the largest travel trade show in the region.
Annual travel trade shows are an important opportunity for both the travel trade buyer and exhibitor as they can have direct meetings and networking session.
Traditionally, visitors at these fairs walk the show and meet the sellers of their interest. The advent of online technologies has enabled the travel sector to further utilise its potentials.
Keeping in mind the business prospects, an easy-to-use online meeting diary to fix appointment between buyers and sellers has been scheduled this year.
