Informa Markets Unveils India’s First Independent Economic Impact Report for Exhibition

New Delhi: Informa Markets in India has released the country’s first-ever independent Economic Impact Report for an exhibition, measuring the direct and wider economic contribution of SATTE 2026 to India’s travel and tourism ecosystem.

The report, titled “One Event. Millions of Journeys.”, was unveiled at Le Méridien, New Delhi, in the presence of senior government officials, industry leaders and international dignitaries.

The report was formally launched by Suman Billa, IAS, Additional Secretary & Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, along with Gyan Bhushan (IES), Senior Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism; H.E. Ms. Chavanart Thangsumphant, Ambassador of Thailand to India; members of the SATTE 2026 Awards Jury including Arvind Singh (Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism), Dr. Abhay Sinha (Director General, SEPC India), Himanshu Patil (President, OTOAI), Aashish Gupta (Consulting CEO, FAITH), Jyoti Mayal (Chairperson, THSC), Meena Bhatia (Vice President & General Manager, Le Méridien New Delhi), along with Bhavesh Laddha, Director, EY Consulting, Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India, and Pallavi Mehra, Senior Group Director, Informa Markets in India.

Addressing the gathering, Suman Billa described the report as an important milestone for the exhibitions industry.

“I am especially delighted to be part of the launch of the exhibitions industry’s first impact assessment report. Reports like these convert intuition into evidence. They bring data, rigour and measurable outcomes. Today, exhibitions are not merely industry gatherings; they are engines of economic growth and platforms for market intelligence. We need events like SATTE to continue growing from strength to strength,” he said.

Sharing the significance of the study, Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets in India, said the report independently quantifies the exhibition’s economic contribution while demonstrating the broader value business events create across India’s tourism ecosystem.

“Beyond the three days of the exhibition, SATTE acts as a catalyst for partnerships, business growth and tourism activity that continues throughout the year. We hope this report becomes a valuable reference for policymakers, tourism boards, investors and industry stakeholders,” he said.

Presenting the findings, Bhavesh Laddha, Director, EY Consulting, revealed that SATTE 2026 generated an estimated ₹193 crore in economic impact. According to the study, the exhibition also contributed to more than 45,000 man-days of employment, generated over 50,000 hotel room nights, and facilitated more than 25,000 flight bookings.

The report further estimates that if even one percent of the business discussions and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) initiated during SATTE convert into actual transactions, the longer-term economic impact could range between ₹3,000 crore and ₹4,000 crore, demonstrating the powerful multiplier effect created by business exhibitions.

The release of the report is a significant step towards establishing a data-driven framework for evaluating the economic contribution of exhibitions in India. Industry observers believe such independent assessments can strengthen policy advocacy, support infrastructure development and reinforce the role of exhibitions as key drivers of tourism, trade, investment and employment.

It may be recalled that the Indian Exhibition Industry Association (IEIA) had earlier released industry-level studies on the exhibition sector. However, the SATTE Economic Impact Report is among the first independent event-specific assessments to comprehensively quantify the economic value generated by a single exhibition, setting a new benchmark for impact measurement in India’s exhibitions industry.

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