Bali, March 29 (IANS): Inspired by Sahabat India, the ongoing festival of India in Indonesia, captains of the Indian tourism industry, comprising over 500 members of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), held their annual India Travel Congress 2015 and exposition from March 26-28 in the island of Bali, the tourism gateway of Indonesia.

The Indian Travel Congress, which seeks to provide greater impetus to the efforts by the Embassy of India in Jakarta and its consulates in Bali and Medan to connect the Indonesian youth with India, was inaugurated on March 26 by Bali province vice governor I Ketut Sudikerta.

He underlined the close historical and cultural ties between India and Bali and lauded the efforts and the outreach activities of the consulate general of India in Bali, in reinforcing brotherly ties between Indian and Balinese people. Bali is a predominantly Hindu enclave in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Sudikerta also expressed keenness to develop sister-city relations with India, focusing particularly on tourism/spirituality as well as agro-food processing industry.
The Consul General of India in Bali, A.S. Takhi, inaugurated the India Travel Trade Expo at the Bali International Convention Centre in Nusa Dua. Nearly 50 local travel agents, hotels, spa centres, restaurants, tourist attractions, airlines and travel insurance companies are participating in the event.

TAAI, one of the largest and oldest travel associations in India, also decided to hold its 62nd annual convention and exhibition in Bali.

Indian Ambassador Gurjit Singh, who visited the expo in Bali, said there was the need for increasing the tourism flow between the two countries while bridging the gap between Indian in-bound travelers into Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, and Indonesian out-bound to India.