The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation will host MITE 2010, a dedicated tourism exhibition that provides business-to-business opportunities on a global platform for industry players from India and their travel trade counterparts from around the world.

MITE 2010 is aimed at providing an integrated business platform for local and international participants thus allowing them to showcase their products and services while simultaneously creating an opportunity for them to meet the top decision makers in the industry. Indian and foreign travel agents will also be able to attain a deeper understanding of issues pertaining to the travel and tourism industry through a series of business forums and dialogue sessions that will unfold at MITE 2010.

The India Tourism pavilion, occupying some 360 square metres of net exhibit space, will feature primarily the various state tourism organisations bordering the Himalaya mountain region.

“We would like to promote summer vacations in the states along the Himalayas as they offer the best scenic beauty of our country during the summer months,” said Ms Meenakshi Mehta, Assistant Director General of the Ministry of Tourism in New Delhi. Apart from this, other state NTOs and individual companies and organisations in the Indian travel, hospitality and MICE sectors would also be taking up promotion space in the 10,000 square metre exhibition hall.

While India Tourism would take centre stage with the largest national pavilion, Singapore has been designated as the “Partner Country” with a pavilion of some 200 square metres, featuring the new Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World at Sentosa among others.

“We are delighted to have Singapore as the Partner Country for MITE 2010 as it has the largest foreign national pavilion,” said Mr. Edward Liu, Managing Director of Conference & Exhibition Services Pte Ltd (CEMS), the organiser of the event.

“We are also happy that the Singapore Tourism Board will be supporting the event and coordinating the participation of several key players from the Singapore tourism and travel industry,” added Liu.

CEMS will be organising the CEO Forum where some 50 captains of industry would be invited to pow-wow on the current issues facing the global travel and tourism industry. In addition, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter would be organising a forum for all hosted buyers from the Indian and foreign travel buyers who will be taking part in MITE 2010.

At the same time, members of the India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) and the Indian Exhibition Industries Association (IEIA) would be meeting with their counterparts from the Asian Federation of Exhibition & Convention Associations (AFECA), which comprises 19 national associations, and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) on the last day of the event.

The Indian travel and tourism industry is currently experiencing a surge in its outbound and inbound markets as well as a robust expansion in domestic tourism. The Indian outbound tourist flow is expected to increase at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.30% per cent over the five-year period (2008 to 2012). This presents a significant strategic and business advantage for global travel and tourism players in this emerging market of India.

MICE in Asia is a media partner of MITE 2010 which will held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, India from January 7 to 9, 2010.