Mumbai: IIJS Tritiya, the third exhibition under the IIJS banner, will make its debut at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) in Bengaluru from 17th to 20th March 2023 – a month prior to Akshaya Tritiya, the auspicious gold jewellery-buying festival.

Southern India is an under-explored jewellery market for B2B manufacturers. So when GJEPC organized IIJS Premiere show in Bangalore, there were a lot of requests from members to hold a permanent South India show. They suggested that the show should be planed around the Akshaya Tritiya festival, which is an important occasion for the South Indian region. So that’s how the idea took root.

In a mobile conversation with Mr. Suresh Chotai, editor of gems2jewellery.com, Mr. Nirav Bhansali, Convener of the National Exhibitions Sub-committee at GJEPC, yesterday gave his feedback about the planning and execution of the first-ever IIJS Tritiya. He elaborated on the efforts towards making IIJS Tritiya a high-quality experience, the imminent launch of a dedicated IIJS App, and the mission of going carbon-neutral among other things. Here are the excerpts in his own words:

Response to the Show:

“The event will feature more than 800 exhibitors and over 1,500 stalls spread across Halls 4 and 5, covering an area of 45,000 square meters. The event is expected to attract over 13,000 visitors and we expect 2000 more in next 2-3 days. The event will showcase a wide range of products, including gold and gold CZ studded jewellery, diamond, gemstone and other studded jewellery, silver jewellery, artefacts, and gifting items, loose stones, lab-grown diamonds, as well as laboratories and educational resources.

The response is much better than what we had expected for the first edition.”

Facilities:

“IIJS Tritiya boasts several notable features, including affordable five-star and budget hotels, self-operated touch screen information kiosks, mobile charging stations, shuttle services to and from official hotels, metro stations, and airports, buggy services within the venue, and cafeteria, specially designed cafés etc.

“This year we have launched a dedicated IIJS app. Every single facility, right from registration, show information, booking of seminars, networking evening, and so on – more than 50 utilities have been put on this app to make the entire show experience seamless.

“We have created a ticketing system for IIJS for exhibitors. So, if they face any issues and need a quick resolution, they can raise a ticket using the app and their grievance will be addressed and the response from the manager or vendor will be automatically tracked in real time using AI in the fastest and the best possible manner. And the information that we’ll gather will help us eliminate those problems for the future.

“These and other small changes in multiple areas like easy entry, mobile charging stations, self-help kiosks, etc. will enhance the overall show experience.”

Business:

“Our sustained efforts would be to make all our three shows (Premiere, Signature and Tritiya) bigger and better every year in terms of services, facilities and business also.

Internally, GJEPC has set a target to generate a business of Rs. one lakh crore through all our three shows. The IIJS Premier Rs. 50000 crore, Signature Rs. 30000 crore and Tritiya Rs. 20000 crore. The Premiere and Signature shows have already achieved their targets. We expect the Tritiya show will also cross its targeted figure of the business.”

Other Goals:

“We had targeted 50,000 trees in the first year, but by IIJS Signature itself we surpassed our internal target. The initiative is very well-received and so we became a little bolder because of the support of our industry members. We have now set a new goal of 1 lakh trees for this year.

“We’re also in the process of identifying and appointing some consultants, who can help us calculate the carbon footprint of the shows. If we can’t replace some elements, then we can try to offset it by planting trees or any other initiatives that will help reduce carbon footprints.

“The aim is to make all our events carbon-neutral, plastic-free and also educate and empower and collaborate with the industry so that they themselves become aware of this very urgent need to save the planet. And they should start applying those same principles to their own businesses, educating their own people, and thereby reducing overall carbon footprint of the entire industry.”