Held at The Hyatt Regency New Delhi, TIES 2023 was extremely well attended by Travel Tourism and Hospitality professionals, Aviation Experts, Tourism veterans, Wellness Gurus, Ambassadors from various countries, Government Officials and media representatives from trade as well as electronic media.
Jyoti Mayal, President TAAI joined forces with Chander Mansharamani, MD, Alpcord and in association with the TV9 network, came together to launch this new and one of its kinds – The Iconic Experiences Show. With palpable energy levels and highest ever attendance that any show has seen, TIES 2023 will be etched in people’s mind for not just quality Knowledge Sessions, Networking and Business Opportunities but also the gala evenings and ‘Mock-Wedding’ that saw people from the industry join in and have a festive time.
Keeping Luxury segment as its main target, TIES 2023 primarily focussed on the five main sectors of the industry – Weddings, Wellness, Leisure, Conferences and Sustainability. The event was spread over a period of 2 days and followed a very different style and itinerary on both days, offering people a delightful mix of various topics and issues related to all segments of travel, aviation and hospitality.
Day one, i.e., October 16 was a day dedicated to discussions, deliberations, masterclasses, TED talks, powerful presentations and more. Some of the prominent speakers who marked their presence on this day included Acharya Pratishtha, Yog & Spiritual Guru, Former Diplomat HCI Mauritius Ministry of External Affairs & Director, Mokshayatan Yog Sansthan; Sadhvi Pragya Bharti, Spiritual Leader & Co-Founder – Sambhav International Foundation and Yudhistir Govinda Das, Country Director of Communications & National Spokesperson, ISKCON India who talked about wellness and how it is not just a luxury but also a necessity. Aditya Ghosh, Co-Founder, Akasa Air and Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director, CAPA Advisory discussed the immense underlying aviation potential in India. Touching upon the most relevant sector in luxury today – Weddings, the panel discussion witnessed deliberations from Chetan Vohra, Managing Director, Line Communications &Weddingline; Vandana Mohan, Founder, The Wedding Design Company; Dr. Sanjana Jon, Social Activist & Fashion Designer and Asmita Chakraborty, Miss Tourism India 2021. An invigorating perspective on how to make “experiences” better was delivered by Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, FAITH. Another Panel Discussion on Luxury in Leisure brought together hotelier’s perspective from veterans such as Zubin Saxena, MD and Senior Area VP, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group; Meshaal M. Qureshi, Trade Markets Director, Saudi Tourism Authority; Mr. HadigalageChalaka Dev Gajabahu, Chairman Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau; Noel Swain, COO, Evisa VAS & Tourism Services – VFS and Parveen Chander Kumar, EVP Sales and Marketing, Indian Hotels Company.
The day was dotted with knowledgeable Presentations made by the many Sponsors and Partners of TIES 2023, who presented their product in a unique style, keeping audience hooked and engaged throughout.
Adding an element of great knowledge and experience was the MasterClasses by Industry stalwart Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited, who enlightened the gathering on the numerous sustainability initiatives that the company has taken while judiciously following the concept of ‘Responsible Luxury’. The day also saw elaborative and insightful talks by Sridhar Keppurengan, Senior Director/Lead- Cross Border Payments and G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, IAS, Secretary (GOI) & Chief Executive Officer, Food & Safety & Standard Authority of India.
The Knowledge Session on Vibrant Heritage India saw participation by Mukesh Kumar Meshram, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh & Director General, UP Tourism; M.D. Sinha, Principal Secretary, Haryana Tourism Department; Tarun Thakral, Founder & Managing Trustee – Heritage Transport Museum, Ashish Gupta, Founder: StrategyPLUTO& Consulting CEO: FAITH, Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, IAS, Secretary Tourism and cultural affairs, Punjab Tourism.
The discussion on MICE was carried out with inputs fromPuneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President Operations, Accor India & South Asia; Raj Rishi Singh, Chief Marketing & Business Officer, MakeMyTrip; Rohit K Lamba, Vice President – Sales& Marketing & Head – Branding, Jindal Steel and Power, Rajiv Sharma, Head – Workplace Management, Nykka; Maniksha Bakshi, Manager (Film Shooting Promotion Cell), Tourism Department, Delhi.
The perfect icing on the cake was the last session of the day focussed on Women Powering Sustainability Goals and witnessed the viewpoints of Rupinder Brar, Commissioner of Income Tax, Govt. of India; Dr. Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson & Managing Director, Bharat Hotels Limited; Varija Bajaj, Fashion Designer, Founder, Varija Lifestyles, O&Y, Lela, Varija Home, Varija Life & THE CAREER and Shobha Rudra, Founder partner, RARE India and Jyoti Mayal, who shared her vision of not just empowering women but also giving back to the industry to empower her fellow colleagues and association members. From multi-tasking talented women to those who are outweighing men in performance numbers, the session was all about women empowerment. At the end of the evening, Chander Mansharamani summarised the events of the day while delivering his vote of thanks.
The entire day was alive with insightful and interesting discussions, witnessed by a house packed of avid listeners. In the evening, the venue was buzzing with live fusion music alongside the gala dinner that was well-attended by industry stalwarts and ambassadors from various countries.
The Day 2 of the TIES 2023 took place in an Exhibition Format and saw many Industry Stakeholders take up booth space, showcasing their marvellous products and services to the discerning visitor and Travel / Tour Operator. With pre-fixed meetings with 30 Corporates in MICE 50 high-end wedding planners and good number of walk-ins, the show allowed ample opportunities to tourism professionals to network and form mutually beneficial business ties.
A perfect conclusion to this unique and grand show was the Mock Wedding – a joint collaborated between Ties and Q Events, wherein, through some traditional Indian ceremonies, the rituals and process of an Indian wedding was explained beautifully. Amidst much laughter, networking, good food and great conversation, the first-ever edition of Ties 2023 was a resounding success and already have people looking forward to the second edition.
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