Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) has opened registration for the India International Travel Mart Bangalore Edition.

In a statement, MATATO said Wednesday that it would be participating in the Bangalore edition of the India International Travel Mart, which would be held in the Indian IT hub of Bangalore from July 21- 23. Interested parties are requested to fill in a co-exhibitor registration form and send it to the organisation’s secretariat, located on the first floor of H. Reef View in capital Male, by May 16, it added.

Participation costs USD 1,500 for resorts, hotels and airlines, and USD 1,000 for guesthouses and travel agents, with a 10 percent discount offered to MATATO members. Every registered party will receive a two by two metre counter space along with one exhibitor badge, but will have to pay USD 200 for every additional participant.

According to MATATO, the Maldives stand will also have four limited premium tables, each designed as cubicles with partitioned walls, two chairs and a table to hold meeting with buyers. A premium table can be booked for an extra USD 1,000, it said.

Established in 1998, India International Travel Mart has become one of India’s leading travel and tourism events. The events, held once a year in each of the Indian cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune, gather tourism boards from India and abroad, airlines and cruise liners, travel agents and tour operators, online travel portals, hotels and resorts, and travel media to display and market their products. This exhibition is a great platform for the travel trade sector to meet and network with professionals for future collaborations and destination marketing.

Bangalore is one of the fastest growing cities in the Asia Pacific region and has emerged as one of India’s fastest growing outbound travel markets. With the emergence of a high tech and a highly paid workforce, Bangalore is also amongst the highest spenders on leisure and corporate travel.

India has become a major emerging source market for the Maldives’ tourism industry. Official figures show that 66,955 tourists arrived in Maldives from its closest neighbour last year, a 27.9 percent increase from the 52,368 Indian travellers that chose the Maldives in 2015.

That growth is expected to continue this year as well, as the number of Indian tourists that visited the Maldives recorded a 21.1 percent increase in the first three months to reach 17,156 compared to 14,171 in the same period last year.