New Delhi : The Ministry of Tourism in India will participate in World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 between November 7-9 in London.
The event is believed to be one of the largest international travel exhibitions. The theme of this year’s exhibition is ‘The Future of Travel Starts Now’. With the reopening of the country to foreign tourists, after a gap of almost two years, this year’s participation of India is particularly significant. After the world’s largest vaccination drive, the country is ready for international tourists. India is participating in WTM 2022 to showcase itself as a preferred destination for tourism, said the Ministry of Tourism statement.
During 2019, the contribution of travel and tourism to India’s GDP was 5.19 per cent of the total economy. In 2019, the Indian tourism sector accounted for 79.86 million jobs (direct and indirect employment).
The consistent efforts of the Central and State governments have helped the tourism industry to gradually recover from the Covid-19 pandemic shock to the pre-pandemic levels, said the statement.
A total of 16 stakeholders, including state governments, other central ministries, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the industry partner, DMCs, tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents, online travel agents, facilitators of medical value travel are participating as co-exhibitors in the India Pavilion.
The objective is to showcase the diverse tourism products and services including Medical Value travel, luxury trains and the gamut of tourism products to the international business community.
The statement further said the Indian government is cognizant of the country’s potential in the tourism industry and has taken several steps to make India a global tourism hub. During the visit to WTM 2022, the Indian delegation will showcase the varied tourism offerings of India to the global tourism industry stakeholders such as tour operators, travel agents, media etc.
As India is poised for massive growth in the tourism sector in the future, this visit shall also offer the opportunity to the Indian delegation to showcase the investment opportunities and potential which India offers to global investors.
India is also gearing up for the G20 Presidency which is scheduled to start from December 1, 2022. Under its Presidency, the country is expected to host over 200 meetings across 55 cities. The G-20 Presidency will give India’s tourism sector an unparalleled opportunity to highlight India’s tourism offerings and share India’s tourism success stories on a global stage, said the statement.
The Ministry of Tourism is aiming to develop the tourism sector, especially in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic to new heights and accelerate the transition to achieve sustainable development targets of 2030.
