Other than India, the participants came from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Korea, Bhutan, the United States, Indonesia and France.
Held at the CII Suresh Neotia Centre of Excellence for Leadership, with the auspicious Buddhist chanting and lamp lighting, the programme was inaugurated by Dr Soumitra Mohan, Secretary Tourism, Government of West Bengal, Dr Sagnik Chowdhury, Regional Director (East), India Tourism, venerable monks from participating countries and distinguished delegates.
The guests on and off the dais spoke about the significance of Buddhist Tourism at large and how the concept of the Buddhist circuit actually binds the entire larger region of Asia and beyond. The various untapped opportunities were discussed and how country-to-country diplomacy can be enhanced through Buddhist tourist exchange was highlighted. About 25 top exhibitors including governments, states, the private sector and associations participated in the exclusive IBTM show and exchanged Buddhist travel-related information. The networking also included a B2B (Business-to-Business) session among the agents and operators to exchange up-to-date information for taking forward the business of Buddhist tourism.
On the main convention stage, distinguished speakers discussed two important subjects – 1) “Contribution of India to world tourism as India is now a major source market of outbound tourists” and 2) “Importance of Visit Asia 2025 and bringing into light new destinations”.
The International tourism Mitra Awards were given to Dr Vinod Zutshi, Former Secretary, India Tourism; the Asia Pacific Tourism Mitra Awards 2022 were conferred to Mr Raj Sachdev(Thailand) & Ms Somsong (Thailand); the South Asia Tourism Mitra Awards were handed over to Dr N Rashmiyati (Indonesia), Brigadier K. Birendra Singh (India) and Ms Bang on Jayanthia (Thailand). Country-specific awards were also given keeping in mind the contributions of the awardees in their respective fields to promote peace, diplomacy and friendship through tourism.
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