BLTM, India’s leading trade show on Business + Leisure Travel and MICE, concluded on a positive note, with a massive turnout of travel trade visitors from all over India. This, together with over 100+ exhibitors from 4 countries and 13+ Indian states and UTs, the 2-day show staged post-pandemic rebound of the business, leisure and MICE travel segment.
Catering to the huge post-pandemic opportunity that India presents, the show offered unprecedented access to the cream of buyers from the North Indian market, and the advantage of hosted buyers, specifically chosen from Business+Leisure and MICE travel segments. Trade visitors and hosted buyers thronged the show floor – which reflected the significance of BLTM in reviving the industry in this post-pandemic period, when the Bleisure & MICE market is witnessing tremendous demand. The rush seen on the floor and the response from everyone present there was overwhelming to say the least.
250+ hosted buyers were present at the show, specifically chosen from Business+Leisure and MICE travel segments from all over India. More than 700 trade buyers visited the show.
The show presented an exquisite showcase of unique destinations like St. Petersburg, Singapore, Moscow, and of India Tourism and some of the leading Indian States, hotels, resorts, tour operators, DMCs, etc., in a 5-star setting, in the heart of Delhi at the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, where participants had the opportunity to engage in fruitful meetings in an intimate setting.
At the show, Ms. Kuzenskaya Julia, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg commented, “I would like to thank the organisers of BLTM for this wonderful platform to help with the tourism development of St. Petersburg. It gave us the opportunity to present our beautiful city to all the exhibitors and visitors. I hope this event will strengthen our cooperation with your wonderful country. Thank you!”.
As global travel resumes, most destinations are betting on a quicker revival of MICE and bleisure tourism in the year 2022; and it is noteworthy that according to surveys, India’s Outbound MICE tourism market is expected to reach USD 9 billion by 2025.
According to reports, the India Business Travel Market is anticipated to reach a value of US$ 55.2 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 8.1% during 2022-2027, owing mostly to globalisation of business operations. Additionally, the increasing trend for bleisure travel, the development of meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) segment, rapid digitization, the rising partnership between businesses and airlines, continuous improvements in the airline, hospitality and tourism industries are also positively influencing the market across India.
BLTM opens doors to India’s 6.5 million outbound business and MICE tourists, as well as the fastest growing business travel market in the world.
“BLTM is a very important platform for the Singapore Tourism Board because MICE is a very important sector for Singapore, and India is one our biggest markets. We are very happy to be at BLTM as over the last two days of the show we have been meeting interesting people and receiving very good business leads, including corporates and travel intermediaries. Many of them have indicated a very strong interest to consider Singapore as the destination for their next MICE movements. I, personally, am extremely excited to join the next BLTM. All the very best to the organising committee!”, saidMr. Raymond Lim, Area Director India (New Delhi Office) – International Group, Singapore.
St. Petersburg, Russia was the Feature Destination of the show; while Singapore was the Feature Country. Goa, Odisha and Gujarat displayed their best as Partner States, and Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh participated as Feature States. Private sector participants from all over India, from many states were also present at the show.
The show also had private exhibitors from several Indian states like Andaman & Nicobar, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, comprising travel agents, tour operators, hospitality chains, DMCs, attractions etc.
Most of the states participated with delegations of tour operators and hoteliers; a clear appreciation of the unabated spirit of business, leisure and MICE travellers of India, who kept visiting these destinations throughout the pandemic, as they remained open with necessary precautions in place.
India Tourism toohad a key presence at the show, showcasing all their campaigns and programmes such as ‘Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, ‘Dekho Apna Desh’, ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
The show was reserved for travel trade visitors for both days i.e. 10th & 11th September, from 10 am to 6 pm. The travel trade fraternity was present in large numbers at the inauguration, with new as well as existing travel trade players, and huge footfall from the travel industry is expected on the show dates.
Right after BLTM, the organisers are here with another ground-breaking show – OTM – the leading travel trade show in Asia-Pacific – being organised on 13th, 14th & 15th September 2022, at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai. OTM promises to be of the highest standard of travel shows ever seen in India.
“The industry’s unanimous take on BLTM has always been extremely positive, wherein they all agree that this show is truly beneficial for the Bleisure and MICE travel industry. Organising BLTM was crucial to keep up the momentum and provide the boost that the industry needs during this post-pandemic phase, when the Bleisure and MICE market is soaring high.”, said Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd., the organisers of BLTM. “BLTM, which is India’s leading trade show on Business + Leisure Travel and MICE, received exceptional support from the travel industry at large and our association partners who have been instrumental in the revival of travel and tourism.” he added.
NIMA was the Knowledge Partner for BLTM. The show also had the active support of other notable travel associations like TAAI, TAFI, ETAA, SITE, Skal International, IATTE, TUC, ADTOI, TOA, ABTO, UTEN and OTOAI.
