Ministry of Tourism Participated at Caravan, Motor, Touristik (CMT), Stuttgart 2016 from January 16 - 24, 2016

India was the Partner Country in one of the World's largest public trade fairs for Tourism, Leisure Caravan, Motoring viz. the “Caravan, Motor, Touristik (CMT), Stuttgart 2016” from January 16 - 24, 2016. The Ministry of Tourism participated in the fair through the India Tourism Office in Frankfurt. The India Pavilion was inaugurated by Mr. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Sevala Naik, Consul General of India in Munich and Mr. Richard Bleinroth, CEO Messe Stuttgart.

India’s presence at CMT Stuttgart as a Partner Country was announced at a colourful opening ceremony on January 16, 2016 which was attended by around 1000 invited guests, comprising journalists, travel writers, important personalities from around Stuttgart, exhibitors etc. The Event was organized in conjunction with a TV Station (SWR) and hosted by them. During the 20 minute slot given to India, a 5 minute visual presentation of the Film “Find what you seek” was followed by a speech made by Mr: Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and a spectacular performance by the Cultural Troupe from Rajasthan (sponsored by ICCR), which was appreciated by one and all.

While addressing a Press Conference for the accredited journalists of the fair, both Mr Billa and Mr Naik stressed on the importance of Germany as an important tourism source market for India and how the Government of India under the Hon’ble Prime Minister attaches special importance to the relationship with Germany. India’s presence was covered extensively in the local media, both print and electronic. Mrs. Roma Singh, Regional Director of India Tourism Frankfurt also met journalists from various Television and Radio stations and spoke about India as a major travel destination for the German market.

Prior to the commencement of the Fair, India Tourism Office, Frankfurt had sponsored the visit of 10 travel journalists on a familiarisation trip to India. The articles written by these journalists were published before the Fair in various newspapers which not only enhanced the visibility of India as a tourist destination, but also contributed towards instilling the consumers’ confidence in the destination.

To announce India’s presence and attract visitors to the India Stand at fair, the India Tourism Office, Frankfurt had launched an outdoor advertising campaign on buses, bus stops, railway stations as well as at the fair ground in and around Stuttgart.

The India Tourism stand at the Fair (Stand number 4 B -10) was a “crowd puller.” The India stand reflected the theme of “Meena Bazaar”, with the ambience of the famous bazaar at Delhi’s Red Fort. A variety of activities like henna painting (Mehandi), palm reading, food tasting, arts and crafts display, Yoga, Ayurveda, bollywood dances and performances by Rajasthan folk dance artistes sponsored by ICCR, gave the visitors a true taste of India.

The consumers that visited the India Pavilion were given information on the diverse tourism products and packages by the eight co-exhibitors (tourism stakeholders from India and Germany) who participated at the India Stand. To appeal to the younger audience, a Photo Booth was set up which enabled the visitors to get their pictures taken against the backdrop of various Indian scenes enabling them to make a virtual tour of India. This was combined with a contest on Facebook where people from various parts of Germany can send their pictures from India with the hash tag #IncredibleIndiaStuttgart to win prizes including the grand prize of two tickets to India sponsored by Air India.

There were many activities held on the sidelines of the fair which included a Seminar on Wellness and Ayurveda under ‘Make in India’ organised by the Consulate General of India in Munich. This seminar was attended by experts in Ayurveda based in Germany. Mr Suman Billa during his address, gave an account of how Ayurveda and Yoga are India’s stellar contributions to human civilisation. As a tradition with CMT fair to organise an event every year themed on one partner country at the fair, the Commerzbank organised an ‘India evening’ themed on India for their clients which attracted the largest ever audience with the Rajasthani folk troupe enthralling all those present with their great music and colourful dances.

The India Tourism stand at the Fair (Stand number 4 B -10) reflected the theme of “Meena Bazaar”. This concept had been applied in the India Tourism stand by recreating the ambience of a Meena Bazaar to present and market the Indian Tourism products to the visitors at the Fair and allow prospective tourists to experience a bit of what India has to offer in their own country and break down any media generated clichés that stop them from travelling to India. The idea behind the Meena Bazaar was to showcase various aspects of tourism products from India by linking them with tangible Indian products.

The India Tourism stand at the Fair carried out a variety of activities like henna painting, palm reading, food tasting, arts and crafts display, Yoga, Ayurveda, folk dances from Rajasthan and many more. There are 8 co-exhibitors in the India Tourism stand comprising tourism stakeholders from India and Germany who were showcasing their diverse tourism products and services.