“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”
Since exploration is the essence of human spirit, it is important to be operational while traveling. To that end, Blue Eye India Pvt Ltd, one of the foremost travel and trade show organizers in India, inaugurated their 21st edition of Tourism Fair 2018 in Kolkata on the 1st of June at Netaji Indoor Stadium. The inauguration was graced by Mr. JP Shaw, Regional Director, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India (GoI), Mr. Srijit Mukherjee, Bengali film director, and actors from his newly launched film ‘Uma’, namely, Ms Sara Sengupta, Mr. Rudranil Ghosh and Mr. Anirban Bhattacharya. The inaugural lamp lighting ceremony was followed by a beautiful ‘dhunuchi naach’ accompanied by the ‘dhaak’.
The Tourism Fair 2018, being held from 1st to 3rd of June will feature around 120 stalls from different parts of India including participation from states, travel agents, tour operators and the like.
The main attraction of the fair is the Africa themed pavilion that features a unique photo exhibition on Masai Mara by ace photographers Biswojit Roy Chowdhury and Shiladitya Chaudhury. It is the first time that there has been an international stall.
Mr. Subrata Bhowmick, MD of Blue Eye India Pvt Ltd was quoted saying, “We are confident that this three day exhibition will open up a new business horizon for further improvement of travel trade activities during the festive season. It will also help the visitors of the fair, participating travel trade members and other stakeholders to interact and exchange their views with each other and develop a strong business network amongst them.”
The fair is supported by Ministry of Tourism, GoI along with different State Tourism Departments from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh along with the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. The State Tourism Departments have set up informative and decorative stalls where the visitors can get an in-depth knowledge regarding the places that they are interested in. The Gorkhaland stall has everything starting from brochures to camping equipments. Other renowned travel companies like Cox & Kings Ltd have also set up stalls and are providing extensive offers and packages for international trips.
In a later interview, Mr. JP Shaw talked about the two schemes for the thematic development of Tourism in India, ‘SWADESH DARSAN’ and ‘PRASAD’. Swadesh darshan was launched for development of theme-based tourist circuits in a way that caters to both mass and niche tourism in a holistic manner. As a part of that, Twelve Circuits such as the North-East, Buddhist, Himalayan, Coastal (Bakhhali, Frasergunj, Mandarmani), Krishna, Desert, Tribal, Eco, Wildlife, Rural, Spiritual and Ramayana Circuits have been identified for development under this scheme.
The PRASAD scheme aims at development and beautification of the pilgrimage sites of all religions. A total of 25 such sites have been identified including Amravati, Dwarka, Belur, Hazratbal, etc.
A beautiful cultural program including various dance forms from across the country was organized at the fair under the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ forum of India Tourism Kolkata. The three-day fair is a very informative and an essential platform for all those who want to be a part of India’s rich tourism industry.