New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) The second edition of India Tourist Mart which targets more than 20 million tourists visiting India by 2020 will commence here on September 23, FAITH (Federation of Association in Indian Tourism and Hospitality) announced on Wednesday.

The initiative aims to bring over 300 organisations from around the globe under one roof. 

"The objective of the mart is to have B2B (Business to Business) meetings between Indian and foreign tour operators, thereby creating a marketplace to transact business opportunities for stakeholders of the tourism industry," said Subhash Goyal, Secretary of FAITH. 

He said that the initiative will improve India's potential to cater to an increased number of tourists in future. 

"The initiative will enhance India's tourism potential in terms of tourist arrivals into India and help it to reach the mark of 20 million tourists by the year 2020," Goyal added. 

The event will allow travel, hotels, destinations, tour and transport intermediaries to seek information and share experiences with different disciplines of the tourism industry. 

It will be held at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi.

The three-day event is supported by the Tourism Ministry and will be inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) Prahlad Singh. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will be the chief guest at the event.

According to Goyal, last year's mart was attended by 244 buyers from 62 countries and this year the number is expected to rise to 300 buyers from 70 countries.