Category Archives: Associations

Sharing association update, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI says, “All chapters need to finish their elections before July 15, 2023 because this is the election year for TAFI. Before September 13, 2023 we are required to complete our national elections as well.”

Lauding upcoming projects in Maharashtra, Chetan Mehta, VP, HRAWI, says, “It is crucial to enhance room capacity to meet rising demand. Maharashtra has around 3,40,000 rooms and with the number of projects in the pipeline, we will require at least double the capacity of hotel rooms. Subsidy for establishing hotels at specified tourist locations, along with incentives for eco-friendly hotels and electricity subsidies, will provide the necessary impetus for the growth of the sector.”  

An IATA report revealed, India has the right vision and well-timed strategy for the aviation sector and its still a long way to go, especially with good economic growth and high population, but it should also be ensured that the positive impact is not curtailed by too many taxes.

According to a recent report by IATA, India witnessed a significant surge , with RPKs surpassing 2019 levels by 14.7 % and experiencing an 18.3 % year-on -year increase. Growth in international air traffic continues to be stable this month.

Based on a survey of 4700 travelers in 11 countries, IATA reported high levels of confidence among travelers for the 2023 summer season. Forward booking data from 1Q2023 for travel between May-2023 and Sep-2023 is tracking at 35% above 2022 levels.

Commenting on the monthly domestic passenger traffic data for April 2023, ICRA states that numbers for April 2023 is estimated at 129 lakh, similar to that in March 2023, though 22% higher in comparison to 105 lakh in April 2022 and 17% higher than pre-Covid levels of 110 lakh in April 2019. It added that despite a healthy recovery in passenger traffic, the domestic aviation industry continues to face challenges on account of elevated ATF prices and depreciation of the INR vis-à-vis the US$ compared to the pre-Covid era, both of which have a major bearing on the airlines’ cost structure. While the ATF prices have witnessed a sequential decline over the past four months, they still remain at elevated levels as compared to the pre-Covid era. The airlines’ efforts to ensure fare hikes proportionate to their input cost increases will be key to expanding their profitability margins.

After a prolonged gap of many years, tourist transporters have been permitted to register BS VI complaint diesel tourist vehicles with a capacity  of more than 7 +1, buses and coaches, following the order of the Hon. Supreme Court. The application was moved by Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA). This is major relief to the tourist transporters, who have been unable to register such new vehicles for 8 years. This will help the industry successfully cater to G20 summit. Also barring of registration was putting financial burden on the transporters and was restricting their growth. Most importantly it will also create valuable tourism transport capacities to propel Indian tourism to cater to increased foreign tourists & domestic tourists over the medium to long run which will boost GDP and will also lead to enhanced employment, said Amrit Mann, Board of Director, FAITH – Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality

Visa EY tourism report titled “Charting the Course for India – Tourism Megatrends Unpacked” released by Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Executive Chairman, Visa, and Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa at ASSOCHAM’s India Tourism Conference 2023. (Left to right: Deepak Sood, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM; Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Executive Chairman, Visa; Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa; and, Ajay Singh, President, ASSOCHAM & CMD, SpiceJet).

A delegation from PATA visited New Delhi recently to do a recce for the PATA Travel Mart 2023, which is scheduled from 4-6 October at Pragati Maidan. The delegation, along with the office bearers of PATA India Chapter, met with Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism.

Concerned over rising incidences of online hotel rooms booking frauds and instances of targeted smear campaigns on social media against hospitality brands, HRAWI will take up the issue with the concerned Government authorities and law enforcement agencies.