2nd Economic Times Travel Conclave & Awards is all set to engage Travel Industry on Nov 30, 2023

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 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. 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. 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. 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