Literally, the first mover in tourism communications in India, Cross Section began its journey over four decades. With Destination India, India’s first tourism magazine, in 1975, the first tourism seminar in 1976, the first B2B trade show, SATTE, from 1994 till 2011. We continue to innovate, with BITB as an industry-driven conference forum and Destination India as a magazine in print and online.
We at Cross Section Media have 45+ years of specialization in the communication industry with a focus on travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. This has been a unique participation in India’s emergence in tourism and travel.
Travel Trade Journalism – Pioneering Initiatives
Ours has been a pioneering journey with numerous firsts –
- Launched India’s first independently produced tourism magazine – Destination India (1975)
- Produced the first text book on Indian tourism (1978) Successful Tourism – Planning and Management– by PN Seth, former Deputy Director General, Department of Tourism, India
- Organized the first industry seminar on Indian tourism, with over 50 captains of Indian industry participation, held at Claridges Hotel, New Delhi. It was inaugurated by then minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Shri Raj Bahadur (1976) and featured the likes of Inder Sharma, Nari Katgara, Camelia Panjabi, Inder Sethi, Avinash Kohli, and Bhagwan Gidwani, among others.
- Produced the first ever daily newspapers, onsite locally printed, at a tourism industry conference in Srinagar. At the annual convention of Travel Agents Association of India. (1984), and continued to publish these over 25 years running at every TAAI convention.
- Produced India’s first annual sales guide for travel agents overseas, Destination India Travel Planner, later also on CD in 1985, endorsed for many years by tourist offices of Ministry of Tourism, around the world.
- Launched India’s first travel trade tabloid – Travel Trends Today– 1984
- Set up the New Delhi Hoteliers Forum, bringing together 18 General Managers of 5-star properties in Delhi and NCR to create mutual awareness and to understand best practices for each other – early 1990s.
- Organized India’s first national and international Buyer-Seller Meet with over 300 foreign buyers, SATTE, that later grew into one of Asia’s biggest tourism exhibitions (1994-2011) and went on do this show for 18 years, hosting over 4,500 overseas hosted buyers from over 50 countries.
- Among the first to recognize synergy between Cinema and Tourism, partnered with the Film and Television Producers GUILD over 10 editions of CinemaScapes, also called Cinema Tourism Summit,that brought together destination promoters and marketers to meet with the film fraternity.
Honours and Achievements
We have been privileged to be honoured by both industry and government-
- First honoured by President of India, Giani Zail Singh, for Best Produced Colour Print Folder (1977) – Folder on Patiala, produced for Punjab Tourism.
- Honoured by the Government of India for the Most Innovative and Unique Tourism Project (1996)
- Honoured by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India for pioneering travel trade journalism in the country. Award given by Minister Jagmohan, then Minister for Tourism and Culture.
- Honoured by Travel Agents Association of India with their Shyam Sunder Poddar Trophy in Bangalore for pioneering new initiatives.
- Honoured by Travel Agents Association of India at their annual convention in London for 25 years of association as a travel trade magazine.
- Awarded by Indian Association of Tour Operators at their annual convention in Agra
About our Founder
Heading the organization since its inception, the founding spirit of our Director, Navin Berry, has been the desire to work passionately and transparently with all sectors of industry, across verticals, and with all associations of industry and government. “We have seen our role essentially as a private catalyst, to forge better information and awareness of issues and options, and to make people and industry come together and work together,” says Berry. The phenomenal success of this event proved the group’s ability to provide the industry a common platform for doing business. His close rapport with industry successfully enabled him to initiate, among other industry platforms, New Delhi Hoteliers Forum, a body of professional 5-star hotel general managers; organize and conduct industry seminars and debates on issues; conduct reality checks at industry ground zero across metro cities in India.
Founders of the first B2B tourism show in India
We conceived the first platform for promoting Destination India among its generating markets, for inbound tourism. It was independently driven, with strong industry support from both government and private sectors. It was the country’s first tourism trade show, a first in South Asia, started in 1994. Over the years, by 2011, the event had hosted over 4500 foreign tour operators from over 50 countries worldwide. An unprecedented achievement for any single organization in the history of Indian tourism, we remain singularly proud for the support we received from organizations such as Air India and over a dozen leading hotels in the capital. In the progress of the event, we partnered some of the most notable institutions in India and overseas. We brought ITB to India, for two years (2010-2011), to support our event. We held the only international conference on South Asia, under the aegis of the UN body for tourism, World Tourism Organization ( UNWTO).
BITB Conclaves
BITB Conclaves are built around a mandate to position tourism as a mainstream activity of national importance. Tourism is a great leveller in society, provides employment and generates incomes across layers. Responsible tourism nurtures our environment, helps restore and rejuvenate what is best of our heritage and traditions.
Our Conclaves reach out to the wider stakeholders of the tourism product. Not just the hotels and airlines, but a vast pool of enterprises both in government and private enterprise. Tourism straddles across verticals in both government and society. The composite tourism product must become the true driver of the tourism effort.
We recognize new-age drivers for tourism, away from a time when sightseeing was the only understanding of tourism. Tourism today is being driven by education, medical, business, wide ranging events from literary festivals to sporting events. We recognize IPL as a major driver of tourism.
BITB Conclaves embrace the wider industry connect, across all levels, where tourism and travel have begun to be recognized by governments across continents, for economic gain and prosperity. Tourism is the most sustainable force for world peace, a passport to progress.
Be a part of India’s tourism story, participate and deliberate in its growth, make meaningful contacts for business with an identified industry connect, meet over networking opportunities and Power Conclaves.