India will showcase diverse tourism products and services including medical value travel and wellness

India is participating in one of the biggest worldwide travel expos, the World Travel Market (WTM) 2022, which is being held in London from November 7-9. This year, the exhibition’s theme is "The Future of Travel Starts Now."

India's participation in WTM is important to accelerate the return of inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels, the Ministry of Tourism said on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Tourism has reserved a space of 650 square metres at the Indian Pavilion, with over 20 other participants gathered around.

The Indian Pavilion was inaugurated by Arvind Singh, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Tourism, and Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the UK, in the presence of the tourism ministers of various Indian states like Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu.

Following the official inauguration, the Indian delegation and attendees visited the booths of the several participating states and other stakeholders, as well as the Indian Pavilion. Incredible India planned a variety of cultural performances throughout the day, as well as yoga sessions, Heena performances, and, of course, Bollywood dance performances.

The highlight of India’s participation of WTM on the first day was India Evening at Copper Chimney, West Field Mall. The invitees to India Evening were members of Travel Trade from India and UK and India Diaspora.

Delivering the welcome remarks at the India Evening, Tourism Secretary Singh emphasized the priorities and objective of Ministry of Tourism to showcase the diverse tourism products and services including Medical Value travel and wellness, luxury trains and the gamut of tourism products to the international business community.

Tourism Secretary Singh attended both the Future Stage session on "Growing Consumer Demand for Responsible Tourism" and the Sustainability Stage session on "Preparing for the Next Crisis: Reaching for Long-Term Sustainability."

Later, he and Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, held talks with ABTA representatives to encourage travel between the two nations.

Additionally, Verma met with representatives from the travel industry and the media and updated them on the steps the Ministry of Tourism has taken to encourage tourism after the pandemic.