London, Nov 8: The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is participating in the ongoing World Travel Market (WTM) 2022 being held from 7th to 9th November in London, which is one of the largest international travel exhibitions.

The theme of this year`s exhibition is ‘The Future of Travel Starts Now’. India’s participation at WTM is significant to step up t   recovery of inbound tourism to pre-pandemic level and to showcase itself as a preferred destination for global tourism.

Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Arvind Singh said the priorities and objective of the Ministry are to showcase the diverse tourism products and services including Medical Value Travel and wellness, luxury trains and the gamut of tourism products to the international business community.

A total of 16 stakeholders, including State Governments, other Central Ministries, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as the industry partner, DMCs, tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents, online travel agents, facilitators of medical value travel are participating as co-exhibitors in the India Pavilion.

The highlight of the first day was the India Evening at Copper Chimney, West Field Mall. The invitees were members of Travel-Trade from India and the UK, besides the Indian diaspora. The event on November 7 saw the participation of several Tourism Ministers and Secretaries of various State Governments. The India Evening provided a platform for interaction and discussion to promote India as a multi-product and round-the-year destination.

During 2019, the contribution of travel & tourism to India`s GDP was 5.19% of the total economy. In 2019, the Indian tourism sector accounted for 79.86 million jobs (direct and indirect employment).

As India is poised for massive growth in the tourism sector, the event also offers an opportunity for the Indian delegation to showcase the investment opportunities and potential that the country extends to global investors.

India is also gearing up for the G20 Presidency, which is scheduled to start on December 1, 2022. Under its Presidency, the country is expected to host over 200 meetings across 55 cities in the country. The G-20 Presidency will give India’s tourism sector an unparalleled opportunity to highlight India’s tourism offerings and share India’s tourism success stories on the global stage.

The Ministry of Tourism is aiming to develop the tourism sector especially in the aftermath of COVID Pandemic to new heights and accelerating the transition to achieve sustainable development targets of 2030.