Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy inaugurates SATTE 2023 and SCO Travel Mart

Grand 30th edition of the travel trade event sees the presence of all Indian states, over 50 countries and 600+ hosted buyers

The Voice of Chadigarh | Travel Trade Reporter:

Organized by Informa Markets in India, at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, with the aim of revitalizing the country’s travel industry business. Spanning over three days from Feb 9th-11th, the event has been conceptualized around the theme ‘Inclusive and Sustainable Tourism’. SATTE provides a platform for connecting and identifying opportunities in a sector that is projected to reach a market volume of $32 billion by 2027.

The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Shri G. Kishan Reddy addressing at the South Asia Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE) Event, in Greater Noida on February 9, 2023.

The grand inauguration of the expo was held in the presence of esteemed dignitaries namely Mr. G. K. Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Govt. of India; Mr. Louis Steven Obeegadoo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Govt of Mauritius, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism, Maldives, Mr Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Malaysia, Mrs. Ni Made Ayu Marthini Deputy Minister, Dept of Tourism, Govt. of Indonesia, Mr Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, Chief Markets Officer – Asia Pacific, Saudi Tourism Authority, Mr. Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook India Ltd, Mr. Subhash Goyal, Member, National Advisory Council, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, Mr. Yogesh Mudras, MD, Informa Markets – India and Ms. Pallavi Mehra, Group Director, and Publisher – T3, Informa Markets – India, amongst others.

At the inaugural ceremony, Mr. G. K. Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Govt. of India said, “G20 has given us the opportunity to showcase our travel and tourism through multiple events across 56 different countries. Our culture, heritage, food, clothes, thinking, respectability and our “Athiti Devo Bhava” beliefs are what we should put forward for the tourists. We have reached 75% of the tourism we had before Covid-19. I have full belief that we will exceed our foreign tourism levels by December this year and set a record level. Domestic tourism is growing in the same way too which will make tourism a big sector in India. With this growth, India has the potential to be the number one tourist destination among all the countries, provided all stakeholders in the tourism industry work along with the government. The government is also promoting domestic tourism by providing a platform for startups as well as big multinational companies and events like SATTE will certainly give a strong push to this industry.”

Mr. Louis Steven Obeegadoo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism, Govt of Mauritius “In the light of the remarkable recovery of tourism, we are looking at 2022 as a great year of recovery and rebuilding of tourism. And I’m convinced that with all stakeholders present here, we are going to make 2023 a great year for travel. Regional tourism is key to recovery of the sector and Mauritius and India have always shared bonds of fraternity. Our purpose of coming here is to ensure that we can convert this special relationship into tourism so that the numbers of Indians crossing the Indian Ocean to the island and the number of Mauritians visiting India keep on increasing to make up for recovery in 2023 and to go far beyond in the years to come. I wish SATTE’s 30th edition all the success in building and facilitating contact, business deals and in encouraging partnerships between all citizens.”

Mr Alhasan Ali Aldabbagh, Chief Markets Officer – Asia Pacific, Saudi Tourism Authority said, “India is a strategic market for Saudi Arabia. Last year, we welcomed 1 billion visitors from India and are governing visitor count for 2030 too. We are very ambitious for India and will make India the number one source market for Saudi Arabia. We are committed to working with the right partner to grow your business and making Saudi one of the top destinations for India. We are delighted to showcase Saudi Arabia at this prestigious event SATTE 2023.”

This year, SATTE celebrated 30 years of glorious existence and is expected to host more than 30,000 attendees. The expo has received widespread acclaim from the industry, including support from various entities such as the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Indian and International Tourism Boards, global travel trade bodies, airlines, hotels, wellness resorts, cruises, theme parks, cinema locales, corporate travel, investors, and wedding planners amongst others.