ReCONNECT, India’s first virtual travel trade show, conceptualised to help the travel industry to reboot, restart and revive domestic as well as international travel, was inaugurated virtually on 18th September. Intensive buyer-seller interactions took place on 21st and 22nd September on the proprietary virtual platform.
170+ exhibitors and 5,000+ buyers assembled for virtual B2B interactions during the pioneering virtual
travel trade exhibition. The platform witnessed 8300+ video meetings totalling to 2000+ hours of
face-to-face discussions, and 70,000+ business cards were exchanged. In the inaugural session, the welcome and theme address on Reconnect and Restart Tourism was delivered by Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO, Fairfest Media, Editor & Publisher, Travel News Digest. He said, “We’re hosting ReCONNECT to reboot and recuperate such a vital industry as travel and tourism, which contributes
significantly to the national economy. Opening up travel is crucial to help all those whose livelihoods
depend on the industry. That is the objective of ReCONNECT, to facilitate the reopening of the travel
industry. That’s why we assembled virtually to get back to business at the earliest.”
The Inaugural Session was graced by the Chief Guest, Satpal Maharaj, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism, Govt. of Uttarakhand, who gave the Inaugural Address. Talking of efforts to revive tourism, he said, “I’m pleased to be a part of this virtual B2B travel exhibition ReCONNECT. We’re cognizant of the challenges being faced by the travel industry and are committed to addressing those concerns. We’re providing compensation to 2.43 lakh workers directly associated with tourism activities and undertaking other measures to generate employment opportunities. In Uttarakhand, there are no restrictions for tourists carrying a COVID negative test report. We are also incentivising tourists by discounting their stay for up to 3 nights.”
Guest of Honour Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, delivered the
Keynote Address. She said, “I would like to thank Fairfest Media for organising ReCONNECT – a show that is not just relevant today when green shoots of recovery are sprouting but creates a positive atmosphere. I call upon the industry to rethink customer engagement, destinations, state governments and travel service providers to rethink their offerings. The Ministry of Tourism is working with the Quality Council of India under a program called Sathi to put health and safety protocols in place. Tourism will bounce back and domestic tourism will be a key growth driver.”
Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority and Kenya Tourism Board joined as ReConnect’s Premium Partner
Countries. Tourism Fiji and Spain Tourism were the Official Partners while Bangladesh was the Partner
Country. Singapore Tourism Board and India Tourism participated as the Feature Countries. Frankfurt
Tourism, Visit Brussels, Zagreb Tourist Board and Visit Jamaica were also present as Feature Destinations
for the first time.
The other international destinations represented included Azerbaijan, Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Germany, Japan, Madagascar, Maldives, Thailand, UAE, UK, Zimbabwe and many others. Amongst the Indian States, Gujarat Tourism was present as the Premium Partner State, whereas Nagaland Tourism was a Featured Exhibitor. Other states represented included Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India also set up a virtual booth at ReConnect, extending its vital support
for reopening tourism.
Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) was the Hospitality Partner. helloGTX and Technogram were the
Travel Technology Partners while OneAbove was the DMC Partner. STIC Travel Group participated as the
Official Partner.
