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The stage is set for the grand return of the 2nd edition of the Economic Times Travel & Tourism Conclave & Awards, an initiative by ETTravelWorld. Scheduled to take place on November 30, 2023, at the Eros Hotel New Delhi Nehru Place, this marquee summit promises an engaging and insightful experience for stakeholders in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.
Bringing together corporate entities, government bodies, and tourism boards, both domestic and international, the Conclave is poised to catalyse discussions, innovation, and celebrate excellence within the industry. With a day-long program of insightful panel discussions, complemented by an evening of prestigious awards, the event aims to set new benchmarks.
The event commences with the registration and arrival of guests, followed by a ceremonial inauguration with the lamp lighting. Subsequently, the proceedings open with a welcome address by ETTravelWorld’s Editor, Navneet Mendiratta followed by a special address by the Guest of Honour, Minister of State for Tourism, Shripad Yesso Naik. The event will officially kickstart with a keynote address by Arvind Singh, Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India & Former Chairman, AAI. Singh has also played a pivotal role as the Jury Chair for the awards leg of the event.
With an impressive roster of speakers, this year’s event is set to deliver a compelling series of sessions and fireside chats, showcasing thought leaders and experts from the industry. The agenda includes insightful industry overviews featuring Madhavan Menon, Executive Chairman, Thomas Cook (India) addressing Mapping the travel disruptions, Naasir Merchant, Co-Founder of Foxtrot presenting Growth possibilities in a new scenario (MICE), Akash Datta, Senior Vice President at HVS ANAROCK exploring the Hospitality sector’s potential within India and beyond, Ranaj Biswas, Associate Vice President, Global Technology & Cloud at Amadeus Labs discussing Travel Technology’s role in redefining ease of business and, Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer of Akasa Air on Mapping Aviation Growth & The Brand Story.
On the other hand, the panels will cover crucial topics like building smart destinations, aviation growth, travel technology, AI engagement, online travel agencies, tech-led brand scaling, sustainability in destination management, financial services in travel, India outbound strategies, and creating luxury experiences while engaging the local community for a holistic tourism experience.
The speakers for the 1st panel discussion “Building smart destinations: Integrating governance, innovation and sustainability” include Manisha Saxena, DG Tourism, Govt of India; Rakhee Gupta Bhandari IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Cultural Affairs (Punjab); Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary, Tourism & Culture Department, Govt of J&K; Tejinder Gupta, Partner (Government Sector), Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. The panel will be moderated by Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI.
2nd panel discussion “Engaging with the AI: The big shift from human interface to machine learning” will feature Vikas Sharma, CEO, Encalm Hospitality; Raj Rishi Singh, CMO & CBO, MakeMyTrip; Jyothi Plappara, Head of Engineering, Airport & Airline Operations, Amadeus Labs; Pankaj Periwal, SVP – Strategy, Rategain and will be moderated by Shilpa Rathnam, a seasoned media professional with over 13 years of experience.
Supported by Gujarat Tourism as the Host State for the 14th CIC, the event aims to propel the momentum in the MICE industry, building on the impetus provided by the G20. The theme for this year’s conclave is “Sustainable MICE: Empowering Events Towards A 5 Trillion Economy.”, ICPB mentioned in a statement.
The speakers for the 3rd panel discussion “Growth: Scaling tech-led brands and business expansion” include Ankush Nijhawan, Co-Founder, TBO.com; Anshul Gupta, MD, Industry Lead for Travel & Hospitality, Accenture; Rakesh Negi, Head of Business Transformation, FCM Travel India; Manish Rathi, Co-Founder & CEO, IntrCity SmartBus and the moderator will be Chirag Agrawal, Co-founder, TravClan.
Shifting the focus to sustainability, the 4th panel will include key speakers like Shreya Ghodawat, Sustainability Strategist & India Ambassador of SHE Changes Climate, Dr Sumit Sharma, Programme Officer, United Nations Environment Programme, Shoba Rudra, Partner, Rare India, Eesha Singh, Co-Founder, No Footprints. The panel will be moderated by renowned environmentalist, Mandip Singh Soin who is also the Founder & MD, Ibex Expeditions and Founding President of RTSOI.
The last panel “India outbound: One year into aggressive marketing and building direct connections. Is the strategy working?” will feature GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East, South Asia, & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB); Mukul Sukhani, SVP, Business Development, Mastercard, Daniel D’Souza; President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel; Rohit Kohli, MD, Away & Co. The moderator will be Nitin Sachdeva, CEO, Venture Marketing & TCEB’s India Representative.
Additionally, the conclave’s engaging fireside chats are poised to spark essential dialogues within the industry, charting a course for growth in various tourism-related sectors. The sessions include Dhruv Shringi, the Co-founder & CEO of Yatra highlighting the complexities of achieving growth for online travel agencies amidst disruptions; Santosh Kumar, Country Head at Booking.com, offering a nuanced perspective on similar challenges in the Indian Sub-Continent & Indonesia and Anuradha Murthy, the Head of Partnerships & Alliance at PayU, speaking on the intricacies of “Innovative Financial Services” and their role in navigating growth during industry disruptions.
Notably, the event is supported by a robust network of sponsors and partners, including the event being co-powered by Amadeus. The key partners include: State Partners – Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Tourism, Associate Partners- TBO.com and Goa Tourism, Event Partners- Punjab Tourism, EnCalm, and PayU, Silver Partner- FOXTROT, Hospitality Partner- EROS Hotel New Delhi Nehru Place, Beverage Partner- Dewar’s, Gifting Partner- Annadya JMD India Pvt Ltd, Exhibiting Partner- Nasher Miles, Nepal Airlines (promoted by Bird Travels), Mobility Partner- Luxorides, and various supporting trade associations including IATO, TAAI, ABTO, ETAA, ADTOI, NIMA, TAFI, OTOAI.
Following the conclave, the evening will host an awards ceremony honoring exemplary achievements, celebrating excellence, and innovation within the industry. Notably, the winning candidates underwent a meticulous selection process facilitated by EY, the knowledge partner and overseen by a transparent jury, chaired by Arvind Singh, for this edition.
The 2nd edition of the summit builds upon the success of its maiden edition which was organised earlier this year. The event witnessed over 300 delegates engaging in impactful conversations that charted the industry’s future course. The event also featured a virtual keynote address by the G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant and distinguished guests including Ajay Bhatt (MOS, Tourism & Defence, Govt of India), Rohan Ashok Khaunte (Goa Tourism Minister), and esteemed country ambassadors were in attendance.
For this edition as well, Khaunte would be present as the Guest of Honour during the Awards Ceremony.
Kerala’s strategy involved leveraging local resources and products to bolster RT destinations, effectively aligning with and contributing to the realization of the SDGs. Kerala’s RT Mission stands distinguished among seven G20 nations, alongside Maharashtra, the other Indian state recognised for its Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve project. These two Indian case studies join a select group of seven G20 countries featured on the UNWTO list.
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