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TTF Kolkata Staging A Grand Rebound Of Travel & Tourism, In The Post-Pandemic Phase
The biggest ever edition of TTF Kolkata kicks off at the newest convention centre – Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan
Kolkata, 1st July 2022: Travel and tourism from India is bouncing back in full vigour after two years of pandemic related disruptions. TTF Kolkata,India’s oldest travel trade show (est. 1989), is staging a grand post-pandemic rebound of domestic and international travel, with over 200 participants from 3 foreign countries and over 20 Indian states and UTs.
After an extremely tough pandemic phase in the last two years, domestic leisure travel is the driving force behind the road to recovery coupled with an increase in business travel as well. Domestic travel is expected to reach record-breaking numbers with 68% of Indians expected to travel domestically in 2022 only, with domestic air passenger traffic nearing pre-pandemic levels with various airlines having ferried 1.14 crore air travellers in May 2022 compared with 1.22 crore in May 2019 – roughly a five-fold increase in volume growth from the last year. International passenger traffic has also seen tremendous growth since flights were resumed fully in the month of March 2022, after two years of restrictions, and reached 72% of the pre-Covid level in May 2022.
Hotel occupancies had fallen below 50% in January 2022 owing to the Omicron impact; however, it hit 65% occupancy level, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and average daily rate (ADR) for three consecutive days during the second week of April.
TTF is the predecessor of India’s largest travel trade show network in 9 Indian cities annually, branded as TTF, OTM and BLTM. This edition staging the grand revival of travel is especially important, as it will catalyse the huge rebound of domestic and international travel markets.
First-time participation of Maldives as the Partner Country, with a large delegation of tour operators and hoteliers is testimony to the unabated spirit of Indian travellers that kept thronging the island nation throughout the pandemic, as it remained open with necessary precautions in place.
Repeat participation from Thailand as Feature Country and from private exhibitors from Nepal signify that short-haul destinations are becoming accessible faster to the Indian travellers, post pandemic.
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Karnataka are coming as Partner States and showcasing with the largest pavilions in the TTF, followed by Tamil Nadu as Focus State. Feature States include Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Jharkhand and Tripura. Private sector participants from all over India are also joining us at the show.
TTF Kolkata was inaugurated in the presence of dignitaries from India and abroad, with a panel discussion on the outlook for travel markets for India in the very important post-pandemic phase.
India Tourism toohas 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’.
“We are very happy to organise a full-fledged TTF after 2 years of pandemic at a very new venue at Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan. This venue is much bigger and the intensity of the show is also as big as how it used to be in the pre pandemic era. It is also significant that the travel industry is coming back to full health. The domestic travel and air passengers are more than it used to be in 2019 and the hotel occupancies have also increased. International travel is somewhat restricted but picking up very fast. We are expecting normalcy to come back in 2023. Talking of TTF- Kolkata, we are happy to see more than 200 participants from 20 Indian states and 3 foreign countries. We expect more than 10000 visitors to attend this grand show”, said Mr Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media Ltd.
The show is reserved for travel trade visitors from today to half day tomo.rrow, i.e. 2nd July, from 11 am to 2 pm. The second half of tomorrow and the whole of the last day, i.e. 3rd July, will be open to all.
The travel trade is expected to revive and restart in large numbers, with new as well as existing partners. Eager travellers have shown up at the show to get the best deals and travel offers from all over India.
TTF is the oldest and biggest network of travel trade shows in the country, covering 9 cities annually. In addition to Kolkata, it is organised in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat and Pune.
TTF has the active support of travel associations like ETAA, TAAI, TAFI, ADTOI, IATO, SKAL International Kolkata, IATTE, TAAB, TAHAT, ATSPB, EHTTOA, ABTO, NIMA and HHTDN.
TTF in Kolkata could not have had a better timing, taking place when the planning for Durga Puja vacation travel season starts.
