Despite adverse summer conditions, the tourism department of Rajasthan is on an overdrive. The departmentwill host the thirteenth edition of the Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) in Jaipur from May 5 to 7. The roadshow is being organised jointly with the Union tourism ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The Great Indian Travel Bazaar will showcase the tourism infrastructure and culinary edge of Rajasthan. To promote the state as a wedding destination, a Wed in India Expo will take place on the first day of the event.
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The tourism director of Rajasthan Rashmi Sharma while announcing the schedule of GITB said the objective of the expo is to encourage tourists from India and abroad to get married in Rajasthan. On the second and third day of the event, business-to-business meetings will be organised with foreign tour operators. They will also be offered tours across Rajasthan from May 8.
Rajasthan is keen to position the state as the leading wedding destination, more so after the Prime Minister made a call for Indians to get married in India instead of heading to foreign shores. “We are ready to work with the government in this direction and GITB has come at the right time,” said Gaurav Khandelwal, a Jaipur-based travel agent.
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Rajasthan is a major wedding destination already. According to Bhavani Shankar Mali, general secretary of All Wedding Industries Federation, Rajasthan hosts about 15 to 20 lakh weddings annualy. “Of these, 25 per cent are low budget marriages. While 50 per cent are of medium budget (of up to Rs 10 lakh), 20 per cent of marriages are high budgeted (of up to Rs 50 lakh). In 5-7 per cent of marriages, the expenditure goes around Rs 50 lakh to Rs 3 crore. In some cases, it even reaches Rs 5 to Rs 10 crore,” he added.
