The PATA Travel Mart 2011 has closed following an in the incredible visit to the city of New Delhi, India.

Over 1,200 attendees joined the three-day annual travel trade event, organised by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

The amount of floor space booked, the number of buyer organisations and the number of seller delegates attending was the biggest since 2008.

“The upturn reflects PATA’s new commitment to building the business,” said Bill Calderwood, interim chief executive of PATA.

He has told media at the opening press conference: “The new PATA that we are creating is changing for the better.

“Over the past few months the Association has taken bold decisions in order to meet the expectations of our members.”

Calderwood said that there was a unique buzz at the Mart due to it taking place in India where consumer confidence and demand for travel is high.

PATA’s strategic intelligence centre said that India’s outbound is averaging annual growth of 12 per cent and that there were no signs of it weakening.

PATA reported that the Mart had also attracted 302 buyer delegates from 279 organisations across 50 source markets. There were 105 journalists attending from 14 destinations.

Some 105 buyers were first-timers to the Mart.

Shri Subodh Kant Sahai, minister for tourism, government of India, said: “India, as you all know, is emerging as one of the major economies of the world with growth rate of over eight per cent per annum.

“The tourism industry is growing even at a higher pace.”

City.Mobi

Also in India today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to New Delhi.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

NewDelhi.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.