The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 30th edition of IITM kicks off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

30th edition of IITM kicks off

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Tourist packages from SriLankan Airlines and Malaysian Airlines, special offers by domestic and international resorts, railway bookings, car rentals and chartered flights. It was as if the world had converged at the city’s Sree Kanteerva Indoor Stadium, where the 30th edition of the India International Travel Mart (IITM) was inaugurated on Saturday by Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan.

Over 200 participants from more than 10 countries had put up their stalls. Also in full attendance were the tourism departments of Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Indicating a definite shift towards normality in the Valley, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism was there too. “There has been a good growth in tourism in the last three years. About 15 flights connect Srinagar to different parts of the country daily. Foreign tourist figures touched about 65,000 last year. But very few come from the South. Perhaps, it is because of the distance,” said Javid Amin, Assistant Resident Commissioner and in-charge of J and K Tourism.

At the Indian Railways stall, the reservation counter put for the fair had already earned Rs. 27,000 on the first day. Visitors also had a glance of the proposed Karnataka Luxury Tourism Train posters and a video. The event concludes on Monday.

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