Lucknow, Oct 16 (IANS): With the festive season heralding vacations in many parts of the state, Uttar Pradesh's biggest international travel and tourism exhibition -- India Travel Mart (ITM), began here on Friday.

The mart comes with incredible deals and packages for Christmas, New Year, business trips, honeymoon and family winter holidays, said the organisers.

It is supported by Uttar Pradesh Tourism as host state, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh as the partner states while Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh are co-partnering the event.

Ajay Gupta, chairman and managing director, ITM stressed the importance of promoting tourism in the tier II cities of the country. "Tourism has become a global leisure activity and a booming sector in the Indian economy."

"Tourism has direct effects on the social, cultural, educational and economic sectors of the nation and its international relations," Gupta said.

The inflow of inbound and outbound tourists will increase in the coming months from north India's tier II cities, he said.