Tag Archives: Rajat Sawhney

Rajat Sawhney, Vice President, ADTOI, says, “It’s a worldwide strategy where all the airlines are aiming at zero per cent commission to agents and Jet Airways has followed suit. It is sad and unfortunate that though bulk of the sales is generated through travel agents, there is no incentive for them to sell their products. This is probably a unique example in business where channel partners are not given any incentive to sell their products. It is high time that agents act as advisors and sell experiences. They should sell packages under their own brand name and offer bundled products with hotels, airlines tickets, transfers, visa, sightseeing and F&B etc. The agents should discourage the selling of stand-alone products which anyway would not fetch them any revenue.”

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) launched its Andhra Pradesh Chapter during its 8th Annual Convention held in Visakhapatnam recently. Vijay Mohan, Member, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority, Government of Andhra Pradesh and President of Tour and Travels Association of Andhra Pradesh, will head this chapter for the association. Rajat Sawhney, Vice President, ADTOI, said, “The membership of the association is predominantly based in North, East and West India. In the South, barring Kerala we had less presence in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The launch of the Andhra Pradesh State Chapter of ADTOI is a maiden attempt to set its imprints and penetrate the southern parts of India for the larger benefits of the domestic tour operators.” Commenting on the targets of this newly formed state chapter of ADTOI, Mohan said “The association of tour operators of Andhra Pradesh has about 187 members. We received 12 registrations just in 24 hours. We would work towards increasing membership and are looking at approximately 50 members at the end of this financial year.”

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) will host its 8th Annual Convention-cum-Exhibition at Novotel, Varun Beach, Visakhapatnam from November 17-18, informed P P Khanna, President, ADTOI. The theme of the convention this year is ‘Domestic Tourism: Explore India – One Country, Many Worlds,’ under which the association will explore various facets of its convention venue – Visakhapatnam. Khanna says, “We are expecting over 300 delegates from across India. Through this convention, we hope to showcase the world-class facilities in Andhra Pradesh and its vast potential for domestic tourism. We will address key industry issues like GST and its impact on domestic tourism; the threat of online travel agents to the small and medium businesses and we will also deliberate on the ways the central government, state government and private players can work in collaboration to improve tourist infrastructure in the country.” Rajat Sawhney, Vice President and Convention Chairman, ADTOI, adds, “We realised that despite being a national association, we did not have a significant presence in South India. With this convention, we hope to leave an imprint in various parts of South India which will also benefit our members from the region. We also plan to start a state chapter in Andhra Pradesh soon.”

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) announced the host property for its annual convention- Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach. Rajat Sawhney, Vice President, ADTOI, is the Chairman for the convention, while Dalip Gupta, Hony. Joint Secretary, ADTOI will be the co-Chairman for the convention, which is scheduled for Nov 17-19, 2017. While the convention hotel is finalised, ADTOI is currently in talks with other hotels in Vizag as well as with airlines to come up with final packages for the delegates.  

P.P. Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) and Rajat Sawhney, VP, ADTOI, recently met with Valsa Nair Singh, Principal Secretary (Tourism & Culture) Govt. of Maharashtra, to discuss about the possibilities of organising ADTOI convention in the state. This was revealed during the ADTOI General House Meeting held in New Delhi. Both sides are listing out the deliverables to take the proposal forward, said Khanna. ADTOI also announced the formation of its various committees and the names of members who will be part of those committees. Khanna also revealed that state governments like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Chhattisgarh to organize ‘State Specialist Programme’ for the benefit of members and their frontline staff. Chetan Gupta, General Secretary, ADTOI also informed the members about the study tour organised by Haryana Tourism to Kurukshetra.