Travel and Tourism Fair--a supermarket of tourism products with 150 participants, including 11 state governments and six countries, was inaugurated in Bangalore on Saturday by Tourism Secretary I M Vittala Murthy.

The fair has participation from partner country Nepal and feature countries-- Egypt, Malaysia, Dubai, Thailand and Tanzania. Opportunities are ample here for travel traders to interact with each other and for customers to book their holidays directly after a face-to-face interaction, clearing doubts about all aspects of their journey, said Mr Murthy. TTF is supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and travel bodies.

The Chief Executive of the Nepal Tourism Board, Mr Prachanda Man Shrestha said one third of the in-bound tourists to Nepal were from India. But this figure had dropped in the last couple of years due to instability in that country. This year though, Nepal Tourism Board expected an increase in the tourist inflow from India, thanks to the liberal policies adopted by the two governments, he informed.

While there are 50 flights a week from India to Nepal, from New Delhi, Kolkatta and Varanasi, the Board is eager to start direct flights from non-metros as well. The board is planning to extend the air services to lure South Indian tourists too, according to Mr Shrestha.