SATTE 2021 gives a message of revival and reconnect

Witnessed over 10,000 visitors despite COVID crisis picking up again

Informa Markets in India, India’s leading B2B exhibition organizer, successfully culminated its three-day travel and tourism exchange SATTE’s 28th edition at the India Expo Center, Greater Noida. Show witnessed participation of over 10,000 visitors from cross-sections of travel, tourism and hospitality industries.

Private players such as TravelBoutiqueOnline, ITC Welcome Heritage, My Value Travel, Tripjack, Youngistan Travellers, STS World, Destination India, Nix Tours, Hora Tourism, and Rayna Tours, amongst others, also participated this year.

SATTE refocused its strategy this year, focusing primarily on the domestic market and a few exclusive international destinations that have opened their doors to tourists since the lockdown was lifted or are looking at wooing Indian stakeholders once restrictions are eased. These included participants such as AlUlA, Nepal, Maldives, Malaysia, Utah and Expo2020 Dubai. The Ministry of AYUSH also participated for the first time at SATTE.

On the successful completion of the 28th edition of SATTE, Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India, said, “We acknowledge the support of our exhibitors, visitors and stakeholders for making a coveted industry show like SATTE possible this year. Our theme for this year, ‘Reconnect to Revive’ really resonated with the industry and we appreciate their contribution in joining our efforts to revive the sector. As an industry, we drive 9.2% of the GDP and 10% of the overall employment, it is time we comprehend the significance of these statistics to become future-fit and get united to exhibit our strength.

“Domestic tourism is already on the path of recovery though we expect periodic see-saws. Through SATTE, we also envisaged the ways to make international and domestic tourism ready and relevant when the time is right and create the road map for the sector to continue ruling the roost. In these unprecedented circumstances we are glad to have hosted such a successful show and provided our able industry partners a platform like SATTE that will further aid them in elevating their business.”

SATTE 2021 garnered significant support from the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Ayush and State Tourism Boards such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir to name a few.

The event also received support from international organizations/associations and Indian travel trade associations such as Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), Hotel Association of India (HAI), Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA), Association of Buddhist Tour Operators (ABTO), Universal Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Skal, Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA).

Host State for the event, UP Tourism Board also expressed how fruitful their association with SATTE has been and said, “The visitor turnaround has been great, and the interactions with other exhibitors have also given us some useful insights about the industry. For this year, UP Tourism is focusing on eco-tourism by promoting wildlife sanctuary destinations. Under the initiative of SWADESH by the Ministry of Tourism, we are also planning to promote and develop Kaushambi and Sankisa as two major destinations for Buddhist tourism; the detailed project reports for the same are under process. The response that we have received was tremendous, and we look forward to participating in SATTE next year as well.”

Significantly, the expo also featured conferences that highlighted and discussed the changing trends in the industry, which can have a long-term impact.

Promoting the message of ‘A Change of Air’ this year, Sooraj PK, Information Officer, Kerala Tourism Board, said, “As wellness tourism is picking up, our state has villages, beaches, and hill stations where tourists can visit, stay and get a taste of fresh air. All our associated hotel partners are also banking on the idea of giving their customers an experience of relaxation with wellness.