The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has been working on creating a product that will help protect agents. Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI, says, “Yes, the TAAI team has already worked on the options as to how an insurance cover/deposit/ financial security to protect agents/customers from airline defaults, suspension, bankruptcy, non-depositing of statutory taxes like TDS, etc can be charged on the ticket or submitted by the airlines/IATA or otherwise. An insurance charge/levy on the ticket, if worked on, shall be a win-win for the airlines and agents, whereby agents’ financial security will also not be required and their working capital shall also be enhanced,” he says, adding that this will create a better working environment and a level-playing field.

The Ministry of Tourism will soon relax norms for the approval of tour operators. It recently received requests to allow travel agencies to shift their office premises to their respective homes given the situation. The current norms require tour operators to have a dedicated office space for MoT’s approval. Sharing details during the IATO Members Meet, Meenakshi Sharma, DG Tourism assured that prompt action will be taken to decide the new norms.

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Promotion Bureau plans to launch a long-awaited multi-million-dollar global tourism promotion campaign. The final terms of references of the five-year campaign are being reviewed by a committee. The aim is to finish the procurement process by December and to kick off the campaign by January 2021.

Deep Knowledge Group recently completed a study assessing the Covid-19 condition in 200 countries and has ranked Switzerland as the safest country in the world, with a score of 752 points against all 130 parameters. The country recently announced plans to reopen its borders to all EU/EFTA states and the UK.

The Spanish government, LaLiga and the Confederation of Employers & Industries of Spain have come together to promote Spain as a safe destination for tourism and sport. It’s ‘Safe Sport, Safe Tourism’ campaign will boost Spain’s tourism and sports industries, both so crucial to the economy.

Arjun Sharma, Chairman, Select Group, has said that while we talk about tapping new source markets, Indian tour operators should also continue to nurture existing markets since they have been supporting us for a long time. Sharma says, “The traditional appeal of India lies in our traditional markets but they have to be nurtured. There may be a short-term dip, but you should approach them because they have always supported you. Instead of new markets, we need new messaging, new experiences and new products because there will be a change in the way people will travel.” He said this during the fourth edition of TravTalk Digital Conclave that was held on June 9, 2020 with the theme ‘Revenge Tourism’.

Rajeev Jain, Director, Rashi Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, has said that after reading the ‘Atmanirbhar’ presentation by Hon. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he has a couple of humble wish list for the government. He says, “Our FM has stated that all tenders below Rs 200 crore will be executed by Indian companies only. This is a good decision and will definitely increase our economic power. But I feel all government events should be done by Indian agencies only. Further, the Central government should allocate resources to state governments annually to conduct events for public awareness and welfare, and these should be executed locally. I believe 2021 will be the silver lining of the dark clouds for the entire industry.”  

The fourth edition of TravTalk Digital Conclave with the theme ‘Revenge Tourism’ drew forth some interesting ideas and perspectives from industry heavyweights. EM Najeeb, Senior Vice President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said during a session that while the Ministry of Tourism and the industry have been working together, there is a need to work towards a different future from what it is today. “I feel that Indian tourism surely needs to be re-engineered for greater effectiveness. It should be a greater commercial mode than a bureaucratic and commercial mode.” The three sessions received a total of 3,000 registrations.

During the second session of the 4th TravTalk Digital Conclave that focused on Revenge Tourism, Kamal Hingorani, Chief Customer Officer, SpiceJet, said that he expects leisure and corporate travel to resume by end of this year irrespective of whether a vaccine for COVID-19 is available or not. He added that there is a need for industry collaboration with a harmonised approach. “Let’s not waste a crisis. Invest in extreme hygiene and sustainability, and ROI will follow,” he commented. Hingorani also looks after inflight services, customer touch-points and corporate and industry affairs for the airline.

Speaking at the 4th TravTalk Digital Conclave on June 9, 2020, Meenakshi Sharma, Director General, Ministry of Tourism, said that one of the biggest challenges they faced as the government was with the unorganised workforce. She said, “This sector has no structure and they are not part of any regulation. This pandemic has shown us that the way we are doing things is not the best. We need to have more cross collection of data. We should have a structure to deal with the problems without making it regulatory. One thing we must have, and the industry agrees, is to be able to support without having the regulation. In any industry, a lot of engagement with the government comes with its partnership on regulation. This is not good for a sector which is ever-changing.”