The Magic of Hyderabad Seduces Delegates at the PATA Travel Mart 2008

Back dropped by the grandeur of the Falakuma (Star of Heaven) Palace being readied by the Taj Group as “the world’s most beautiful hotel”, the Union Tourism Minister of India, Mrs Ambika Soni welcomed more than 1400 international and domestic travel industry partners to Hyderabad, the state of Andhra Pradesh and the PATA Travel Mart 2008 early last week.

The star-lit gala welcome, sumptuous Indian banquet and vibrant cultural performances showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the country were followed by three days of intense business and commercial sessions that concluded on September 19.

PATA Travel Mart delegates were introduced to India’s diverse culture during several special events.

Opening “Asia Pacific’s best travel contracting and networking show” which was staged at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Mrs Soni later said that tourist numbers have registered a healthy growth over the past two years.

Arrivals in 2007 were nearly 5.1 million, she said.  India is forecasting 10 million arrivals by 2010.

The USA has emerged as the largest source market with just over 800,000 arrivals last year.  Australia contributed over 100,000 tourists to India in 2007.

In addition, she announced huge investment plans for 22 “mega” destinations in the country.   Two of these will be in Andhra Pradesh.

“Growth is robust in the tourism sector as the country is able to offer different types of customised tourism packages for almost every tourist,” the Minister said.

The Indian Union Minister for Tourism Mrs Ambika Soni formally inaugurated the PATA Travel Mart in Hyderabad last week.

Some 128 villages of tourist interest have been identified across the country and the central government is planning to provide funding for infrastructure development in a bid to boost rural tourism, she said. 

In addition we want to simplify visa regulations and have requested the External Aaffairs Ministry to clear any type of visa within 48 hours from application. “Ideally, we are looking at a visa on arrival situation,” she said. 

The Andhra Pradesh State Minister for Tourism, Mr Anam Ramnarayana Reddy highlighted the variety of tourism experiences the state offers including heritage, eco-tourism, religion and spiritual, arts and crafts, leisure and health tourism.

Joint Secretary Tourism, Mrs Leela Nandan said that outbound tourist traffic registered a 25 per cent increase in 2007 soaring to 8.34 million. The figure is forecast to be around 10 million this year.

“We are hoping that the outbound tourist numbers would reach 50 million by 2020”, she added.

The Indian outbound market expanded by 10% annually from 1996-2006, well above the world average.  Latest figures put outbound growth at 16% in 2006.  

The size of the Indian middle class currently stands at somewhere over 350 million – roughly the size of the population of the US – and is growing at an estimated 40-50 million a year. Half of those travelling are under 35 years and travel for them is still seen as an exciting proposition.

With the GDP in the country growing by 8% per annum disposable incomes have been rapidly increasing.

Indian outbound travellers once considered low spenders are now recognised as high-yield visitors with the average Indian traveller spending US$1,700 per trip.  This amounts to a US$15 billion Indian outbound market.

The Indian outbound market is also maturing and travellers are looking beyond traditional Western destinations. 

Research shows that Asian destinations have become the most popular among Indian travellers.

Mrs Partha Sarathi, Principal Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Tourism announced that road shows would be staged to create awareness about the destinations offered by the state. “We want to showcase the Buddhist circuit and Vijayanagar circuit to the nation as well to the foreign visitors,” she said.

India provided the largest mix of seller delegates with the ornate Rajasthan pavilion providing considerable interest.

Some 1,089 trade delegates, comprising 374 global buyers from 324 organisations and 715 Asia Pacific seller delegates from 301 organisations registered for the travel trade show which was a complete sell out.

As host destination, India provided the largest buyer contingent from a single source market with strong growth coming from China which will host next year’s PATA Travel Mart in Hangzhou.  PTM 2009  will be held in the city’s World Trade Centre from September 22 – 25.

PATA selected India for PTM 2008 because the country’s tourism industry is among the strongest and most dynamic in the world and still shows plenty of room for growth.

Four hundred year old Hyderabad was selected as the PTM host city because it’s “at the forefront of the resurgence of India’s economic engine and highlights the new Indian growth driven by knowledge and education”. 

The city has also been identified as one of the top 20 cities of sustainable future according to a world study initiated by the New York-based Ethisphere Institute which evaluated cities on their efforts to improve sustainability including public transport, local economy, environment, health, education, recreation and living standards.

Other cities featuring in the report include New York, Toronto, Frankfurt, Singapore, Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, London and Curitiba in Brazil.

The purpose-built Hyderabad International Convention Centre is the most advanced meetings facility in the country.

The city also got the nod from PATA because of the availability of two landmark facilities, the Hyderabad International Convention Centre and the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

The HICC won the prestigious National Tourism Award in 2006-07 as the ‘Best Convention Centre’.

Developed and owned by the Cyberabad Convention Centre Private Limited a joint venture between Emaar Properties of Dubai and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, the facility is managed by Accor.

The HICC has a pillar-free internal hall of 6,480 sq. metres which can be partitioned into six smaller halls accommodating up to 6000 guests.

Located 17 km from the HICC, the RGIA opened in March.  Built for an initial annual capacity of 12 million passengers, the A380-capable airport will eventually be expanded to handle 50 million passengers.  In its first 50 days of operation, the airport handled 1 million passengers.

The new airport is also attracting global airlines keen to place Hyderabad on their route maps.  More than 10 international carriers already serve RGIA.

Together these state-of-the-art facilities have carved a niche for Hyderabad as an events destination.  Another boost is on the way.

Hyderabad is set to initiate a convention bureau, the first of its kind in the country. ‘Visit Hyderabad’, as the bureau would be named, will focus on marketing the city on a global platform providing further impetus to the city’s MICE impetus.

Exclusive Report from Hyderabad India by Thomas E. King TravelMole’s Travel and Lifestyle Editor