Category Archives: Associations

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has introduced its new team for Western India Chapter for 2016-18. The new team comprises Abbas Moiz (Chairman), Sapna Rateria (Secretary), Jitul Mehta (Treasurer), Vikram Paul (Returning Officer), Suprabh Oza (Committee Member) and Burjis Mehta (Committee Member). Rajat Bagaria, Member, TAFI National Managing Committee, said, “The new committee thanks Darshan Mehta, Outgoing Chairman, for his contribution towards TAFI and the trade. We would also like to thank Vikram Paul, who has consented to be the Returning Officer. We re-iterate our commitment to the improvement of the trade. We shall work hand-in-hand with partner associations where needed to stand united as an industry. We request all members to please bring to us the issues which are being faced. We have been approached by members with their visa issues, ADM and other issues, which we are trying to resolve. We look forward to suggestions and guidance from all our members.”

The Chhattisgarh Chapter of ADTOI was launched on June 5, 2016, at Hyatt Raipur. The event was attended by the entire central leadership of ADTOI and all the Executive Council members of the association. Ritesh Mundhra of Choice Holidays is the Chhattisgarh Chapter Chairman while Jaspreet S. Bhatia, Ice Cubes Holidays is the General Secretary. Chairman and Vice Chairman  of Chhattisgarh Tourism Board along with the General Manager were also present during the function. All the newly joined members of the State chapter were duly honoured. A large number of local travel agents were also present during the event. ADTOI members from other cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur also marked their presence. The members are: Kapil Jain, Kewal Shanti Travels Mahesh Bansal, Star india travels Pankaj Sood, Satguru Holidays Ajeet Dodai, Travel Hawk Sunil Vishwakarma, Indian Holidays Parminder Sahni, Travelwithsmile.com Rohit Dwivedi, Holiday Junction Hardeep Hora, Travel Planners Manoj, Global Travels Ricky Malhotra, Travel Boutique

Announcing the debut of its convention dedicated to India’s nightlife, Riyaaz Amlani, President, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), revealed that it will be held at St. Regis in Mumbai from July 17-18, 2016. It will be the first platform specifically designed to bring together and recognise the various stakeholders of one of India’s most vibrant and fastest-growing industry – nightlife. The event is a joint initiative of Kickstart Entertainment and NRAI. “The two-day convention will have multiple business sessions with speakers from the sector from across India. This will include three international speakers as well. We are also looking to get attendance from the government, including the Ministry of Tourism, Home and Excise because we don’t fall under any single ministry. We are also inviting someone from the Government of Maharashtra since it is happening in Mumbai. We want them to listen to our problems and see that this is a serious industry.”

The next edition of the PATA Annual Summit (PAS) 2017 will take place in Negombo, Sri Lanka from May 18 -21, 2017. The PATA Annual Summit 2016 was held in Guam and welcomed 640 delegates from 206 organisations representing 33 countries to the four day event.  PATA CEO Mario Hardy stressed on the issue of climate change and stated, “We understand that the Pacific Islands are at a critical junction in its future development economically, socially and environmentally, especially with the growing effects of climate change. We hope that bringing together high level speakers, we can highlight these issues as well as analyse and share ideas on how to create a more sustainable and responsible travel and tourism industry,” he added. The four day event witnessed several high-level industry leaders give talks on various tourism-related topics like ‘Driving Solo or Following the Pack’, ‘Mastering the Skill of Future Trend Forecast’; ‘Defy the Norms to Create ‘Same Same But Different’; ‘The New Edge – Foreseeing New Travel Patterns’ &‘Reversing the Brain Drain by Mixing the Borders’, while delegates gained additional insights about the latest travel and tourism industry trends during PATA Marketplace. Other highlights of the four-day event included the PATA Awards Presentation, the election of the new PATA Executive Board and the presentation of the Silver-level Sustainability Certification by EarthCheck.

A national conference is going to be held jointly by IATO, TAAI, TAFI, ATOAI, FHRAI, and ICPB, on January 10, 2017. Subhash Goyal, Immediate Past President, IATO, informed that he has been elected as the Chairman of the Conference which will be called ‘Incredible India Calling’. Goyal also said, “We have requested the honourable Minister of Tourism to write to the Prime Minister to finalise the date. We are expecting around 15,000-20,000 people to attend the conference which will be the mother of all conferences. We hope it to be a grand success.”

A new tax called Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC) will be levied at 0.5% on all taxable value of services with effect from June 1, 2016. Just like Swachh Bharat Cess (SBC), KKC shall be chargeable on the value of services and not on service tax. This means that along with 0.5% of KKC the effective service tax rate will become 15% on taxable service. The Krishi Kalyan Cess will not be leviable on services which are exempt from levy of Service tax as well as on services on which service tax is not leviable. In case there is any abatement or partial exemption available to a service, KKC shall be leviable on such amount which is arrived after deduction of said abatement or partial exemption. Service tax, SBC and KKC will have to be shown separately on the invoice. Separate accounting codes for payment of KKC will be released The central government seeks to levy and recover KKC @0.5% on value of outstanding amounts as on June 1, 2016. TAAI has advised all its members to collect their outstanding dues from their clients at the earliest and latest by May 31, 2016 to avoid recovery of additional 0.5% of KKC.

A horde of travel agents and tour operators from across Australia, keen on knowing more about India, attended the ‘Know India Better’ event held in Sydney on May 24. A joint initiative of India Tourism and Australia India Travel & Tourism Council (AITTC), this was the final of a series of sessions launched last year, aimed to educate the industry with updated travel information on India covering flights, hotels, infrastructure developments, visa, tours and safety awareness. According to Sandip Hor, Chairman AITTC, this project has immensely aided the industry allowing agents and tour operators to excite potential travellers on India. “Australia has moved from ninth to the seventh position in the list of foreign tourists arriving India”, said Kanchan Kukreja, Acting Director India Tourism Sydney. Attendess heard about this exotic destination from various presentors – India Tourism, Intrepid Travel and Air India and on India’s various touristy drawcards , including some of the economic and technological developments. Madhu Mathen, Manager Air India emphasised how the direct flights between Sydney/ Melbourne and Delhi are contributing to the growth in bilateral travel. While Kukreja in her presentation engaged the audience through various showstopping scenes of India, Sandip Hor expressed thoughts of initiating similar program in India to update market with more information on Australia, AITTC objective being to promote bilateral tourism. Representatives from Air India, Accor Hotels, Intrepid Travel, Insight Vacations, Far Horizon, Taj Hotels, Grace Hotel, Special Holidays Travel were also present.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the election of Andrew Jones, Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts, Hong Kong SAR, as Chairman of the Association’s Executive Board. He replaces Kevin B Murphy who was elected Chairman in April 2015 and who remains a member of the Executive Board as Immediate Past Chairman. Over the past 45 years he has worked in numerous senior management and corporate positions for prestigious hotels, resorts and management companies in London, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong SAR and across Asia. In 1996 he founded and became the Guardian of Sanctuary Resorts, a resort management company creating responsible and sustainable tourism experiences where people can balance their body, mind and spirit in an environmentally friendly space. A Certified Hotel Administrator of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, Andrew was previously a member of the Board of the Indian Ocean Tourism Organization and Director, Asia Pacific Affairs for the International Hotel and Restaurant Association. Andrew Jones said, “It is especially meaningful to me to be elected to the position of Chairman of PATA during this 65th anniversary year of the Association. During this time, after a long career in hospitality, I also celebrate my 65th year on the planet. In leading and guiding PATA in the coming year, my focus will be on the continual and future enhancement of the Association. In taking on this role I commit to pro-actively working with the Executive Board, management team and our members to continue the good work of PATA. I want us to deliver on our promised advocacy themes, especially Human Capital Development, and to encourage membership development and involvement while supporting the …

The Central Government has notified travel serivce providers that it has exempted service tax on religious pilgrimage for Kailash Mansarovar, Haj Yatra or pilgrimage facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, between July 1, 2012 to August 19, 2014. A notification was issued to TAAI members on September 2, 2014, specifically exempting service tax on services provided by specified organisations in respect of religious pilgrimage for Kailash Mansarovar, Haj Yatra or a religious pilgrimage facilitate by MEA, GoI, with effect from August 20, 2014. However, for the period from July 1, 2012 to August 20, 2014 service tax was applicable on the aforesaid services but due to common practice prevalent during that time, no service tax was paid on the services.

PATA India and the Ministry of Tourism’s (MOT) first leg of its five-city US roadshow begins today at San Francisco and will cover the West Coast. Imparting more details on the roadshow, Vikram Madhok, Hony. Treasurer, PATA India, said, “One of our mandates for PATA membership is to add value so we embark on roadshows across the world, primarily in the main feeder markets. Now, we are going back to the US and have more than 20 people from every segment participating. It’s going to begin from May 24 in San Francisco, May 25 in Los Angeles (Orange County), May 26 in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), May 31 in Vancouver ending on June 1 in Seattle. Another roadshow in Europe is currently in the pipeline.”