October 31, 2020 TnH Global

SATTE’s virtual avatar ‘SATTE GenX’ concluded successfully

SATTE, South Asia’s largest annual travel & tourism exhibition organized by Informa Markets in India (formerly UBM India), recently made its virtual debut. SATTE GenX, a virtual travel exhibition, was held on October 5th -6th, 2020, as a part of ‘Virtual B2B celebration’ of the Informa Markets in India. The initiative was aimed at helping businesses overcome the limitations caused by COVID-19 and achieve business goals as the economy readies itself to get back on track. During these challenging times, this digital initiative was an opportunity for the stakeholders to conduct business from the location of their choice and connect with the target audience.

Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India said that the SATTE GenX was aimed at providing a virtual platform to the stakeholders of the travel & tourism industry to help them connect with each other and conduct their business from locations of their choice, from the comfort of their homes or offices. “At a time when people are not comfortable with in-person meeting and attending physical events, the virtual platform such as GenX is the best way for the industry to interact with each other and explore business opportunities, “added Mudra.

SATTE GenX is a similar platform to annual SATTE in every respect except that it is a virtual show. “At SATTE GenX we offered content similar to physical SATTE. It had exhibitions, meeting, networking opportunities, interesting business sessions on current happening and much more,” said Mudras adding that there was something for each vertical. It was a wholesome experience well-appreciated by stakeholders.

Mudras described SATTE GenX as a cutting-edge web-based platform to ensure a parade of International as well as domestic destinations that have reopened, is likely to reopen in the coming weeks or showcase how they might return to the tourism map over the upcoming months. “It is an effort to cater to the market changes and to offer an organised structure to conduct trade in the midst of crisis, setting an unmatched standard for the travel community, by giving them confidence, a variety of destinations and trusted suppliers with just a click through this expo,” said Mudras.

The initiative was supported by international and Indian travel trade associations such as the Indian Association of Tour Operator (IATO), Skal Asia, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA), Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO), BD Inbound and Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), to name a few.

The Services Export Promotional Council (SEPC), an advisory body of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, has joined hands with SATTE GenX with an exclusive pavilion to initiate the revival of India’s inbound tourism.

Around 120 exhibitors participated in the SATTE GenX. National Tourism Organizations (NTOs) of the countries such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Maldives, Bangladesh and Dubai participated as the Platinum Partners in the virtual show, whereas Fiji and Utah were the Gold Partners. Likewise, Mauritius, Germany and Somatheeram amongst others participated as Silver Partner.

SATTE GenX was in a way teaser for the next annual SATTE, where experiences gained from the virtual platform will be used to supplement SATTE 2021 at a time when safety and health remained a profound concern.
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