Tag Archives: PP Khanna

ADTOI celebrated its 27th Founders Day on 7th August 2023 at the Metropolitian, New Delhi. Association was constituted on 7th August, 1996 with a purpose of uniting and merging the efforts of all domestic tour operators actively trying to promote different regions of India. PP Khanna, President, ADTOI launched the ADTOI mobile app during the occasion. The mobile app in Android and IOS have been developed, the android version is already available and the IOS will be available within a week. Ved Khanna, Treasurer, ADTOI shared the reason behind the app, “The major reason was smooth functionality as domestic tour operators complained that they did not recieve mails or was unable to communicate or get in touch with the office bearers.” At the event, the ADTOI Founder Members and the past Presidents were honoured and facilitated for their vision and contributions to building the association. Also, on the occasion, the criteria for nomination for the AKR Awards were announced. The AKR AwardS was instituted by ADTOI, in memory of Anil Kumar Rajput, the travel Industry veteran who did groundbreaking work in researching and promoting new destinations.            

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has said that we can do roadshows, travel shows with locals, as their skilling is very important. “Such skill management can help boost tourism in the states, and we have instances of the same in Rajasthan and Kerala,” he said.

In his discussion with the MOT, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has requested for inclusion of hotel charges in the MDA scheme for domestic tour operators. “The draft mentioned that for digital marketing or attending marts across India, this money would include cost of hotels, but in the final draft hotels were not included. Hence, we have requested the ADG to include hotels,” he said.

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has said that since many of their members could not get vaccination, owing to shortage of vaccines, the association has tied up with hospitals to organise vaccination camps for its members on a pan-India basis. “This will be provided to members at a special rate. To elevate the financial burden on the members, we have decided to give a subsidy to all primary members by reimbursing 50% of what they spend on getting vaccinated, whether it’s the first shot or second shot or both, to the maximum limit of  Rs 600 for each shot within a period,” he adds.

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said, “The tourism industry is really disappointed, especially after seeing over 30% unemployment. While the budget has proposals on railways, roads and ports, it is surprising how without any direct allocation of funds to MOT or state tourism boards, we would be able to follow the slogans like, Dekho Apna Desh, Incredible India and Ek Bharat , Shrestha Bharat? The industry was to be recognised post-COVID, which has not been done.”

ADTOI has announced that their 10th Annual Convention will be taking place from 12-14 February at Statue of Unity, with the support of Gujarat Tourism. The theme of the convention is Domestic Tourism – Hope For The Revival ‘Dekho Apna Desh’. To be held at the Convention Hall, Tent City 2, Kevadia, Gujarat. PP Khanna revealed that the convention is aimed at promoting domestic tourism and they have been in talks with Gujarat Tourism for a long time, and they will be together be promoting Kevadia as an upcoming domestic destination.

PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, has shared that 500 domestic buyers will be part of India Tourism Mart (ITM) Virtual, which will be held from February 18-20 this year. Domestic buyers will include tour operators, institutions and corporates. The participation fee for exhibitors is Rs10,000. About 500 foreign tour operators are also expected at the event.

In an exclusive interaction with TravTalk, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said that during their meeting with the Tourism Minister, he suggested that MOT bring out a comprehensive study on domestic tourism so that trade members are aware about hotels, transporters, communication and infrastructure in a particular state, to help avoid chaos and confusion.

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI) might have to postpone their election due to COVID-19, which was scheduled for August 2020, revealed PP Khanna, President, ADTOI. “We cannot have electronic elections or get ballots through post of members in Delhi, only the members outside Delhi can post the ballots. With restrictions, it would be best to postpone the election. The final date of election will be announced soon,” he said.

PP Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), has said that while the industry is talking about domestic tourism, they are taking the lead in educating their members on different destinations and hotels. “We at ADTOI of making our members utilise the time during the lockdown period in learning to promote domestic tourism more effectively. Hence, we spoke to a few states, tourism boards, and hotels for educating our members online, so that they can take benefit of the time in hand and learn about the potential of domestic tourism and tourist spots of the state. Also, they can learn about the hotels to promote them and learn about the steps the hotels are taking for the safety and security of the clients. Hence, we started talking to some of the state tourism boards, like Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, who came forward and gave the presentation to our members. We also spoke to hotels to give education about their hotels, so that after the educational programmes, the members can promote those hotels. Hence, brands like ITC, Taj, and Accor have already conducted educational programmes for our members and we are continuing with other hotel chains also,” he said.