In the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak across the world, the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has decided to postpone its Convention to another date. The Convention was scheduled to take place in Antalya, Turkey from March 15-18, 2020. Once things are back to normal, the OTOAI Convention will take place in Turkey with fresh dates. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI shares, “It is unfortunate that we had to postpone the convention, but given the prevailing circumstances, we thought it is best to do so. The decision has been taken keeping the safety of our delegates in mind as we would never do anything that might put their health in jeopardy. I am sure that the effect and spread of Covid-19 will subside with time and once that happens, we will re-announce the convention with a fresh set of dates.” Himanshu Patil, Vice President and Convention Chairman, OTOAI, added, “We would like to thank all the members of the travel trade, media and our partners in Turkey who have been extremely supportive. We look forward to your continued support in the future also and we are confident that as soon as the Covid-19 cases are curbed, we will announce the new dates of the convention.” In a statement, the Destination Turkey said, “Turkey is very eager to host all the delegates and the preparations are still in order. While Turkey has not reported a single confirmed case of COVID-19, the decision has purely been taken keeping the various travel advisories being issued in mind.”

Switzerland Tourism invites members of India’s travel trade to participate in its exclusive webinar series. The webinar series aims to educate the trade about one of the most popular travel destination for Indian travellers – Switzerland. Those interested can get in touch with  Jaspreet Kaur  via email at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com  or call  9650196532. This webinar that will take place on March 5, 2020 at 3:00 pm will highlight the summer attractions in Lucerne.  Lucerne is a city in Central Switzerland situated on the Lake Lucerne and surrounded by mountains. It is a popular destination for travellers and has numerous attractions and accommodation options in and around it. Viewers get a chance to learn about the various offerings in Lucerne in the summer months so that they can plan their clients’ itineraries accordingly. Travel partners who attend all the webinars also stand a chance of winning a trip to Switzerland.

The 35th edition of Aahar was inaugurated by LC Goyal, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, ITPO. Reassuring the participants of Aahar he said, “Large complexes are sensitive to the needs and requirements of participants, I am afraid that ITPO has a long way in achieving this. They need to feel more receptive to all of you when you visit our office. I am going to revisit the entire system and make it robust. In case of any malpractice, please bring it to my attention. Infrastructure is one aspect; we need to develop the soft skills. The industry is getting very competitive, more venues are coming up, so best of service is required and we have a long way to go.” Assuring  better, transparent  and  accountable  professional  services  to  all  the   trade and industry by ITPO in future, he further adds, “ These events are extremely important, and we cannot undermine them. Last year we offered an area of 24000 square metres, this year it is 44 ooo square metres. There has been  a huge gap between demand and supply. For next year’s edition of Aahar hopefully we will be able to offer 1 lakh square metres.”

Inaugurating the  of the 35th edition of Aahar, L C Goyal, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, ITPO, said, “Events like these help promote and transform the various sector of our economy. They are the lifeline of the exhibition industry. The industry is at a stage today where it is poised to grow at a faster pace. Recent studies have indicated that Asia and India will be at the forefront of future growth of global exhibition industry. This is a huge industry waiting to expand. This industry directly or indirectly is creating a business of more than 3 lakh crore every year. It has  a crucial  role  to  achieve  the  target  of US$5 trillion  economy by  the  year 2024 , as  envisioned  by  Prime  Minister   Modi. “

Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism and Culture, Government of India, has said that they are thinking of declaring 2021 as Visit India Year, with an aim to invite people across the world to the country and showcase its diversity. “We want people across the world to know India and see its cultural heritage and its attractions. In order to showcase that we are in discussion to declare 2021 as Visit India Year. We want to make the new multilingual website and language facilities at important tourist sites, act as facilities to attract tourists from different countries across the world,” he announced at the launch of the multilingual Incredible India website in New Delhi.

Artem Chernyshov, Event Director, MITT has confirmed that MITT 2020 will proceed as planned. There is no directive from the Russian government to halt any event or impose any ban on the entry of foreigners to Russia. The organisers are currently making all necessary preparations to run the 27th edition of the Russian travel trade show as planned in Crocus Expo, Moscow from 17-19 March 2020. The update came following the rapid outbreak of coronavirus globally. MITT is taking extra measures to ensure the health and safety of all exhibitors, visitors and staff. For any other queries, people can contact the official call-centre on 8 800 555 43 43 designated by the Russian Federation. The organisers are also in constant touch with WHO and the Russian Federation to stay up to date with the latest developments. With IMEX due to take place in the middle of May (still 10 weeks away), the IMEX team continues to plan confidently for the show. They currently have NO plans to postpone or cancel. They are very grateful for the ongoing support of their exhibitors and attendees who continue to register and plan for the show and they have not experienced any substantial impacts so far. The IMEX team remains in close contact with their partners in Germany, as well as the relevant health authorities. As this unprecedented situation is changing every day, they remain watchful but also focused on delivering what is an extremely important event for the global business events community. Mindful of our duty of care, they are also carefully considering and consulting with experts on what the appropriate sanitary, health and other measures should be. Ray and I assure you …

The ITB India organisers have announced to postpone ITB India 2020 due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. Originally scheduled to be held on 15- 17 April 2020 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, the show is now scheduled to be held on 7 – 9 April 2021 at the same venue. The participants of the show can reach the organising team by sending queries with regards to ITB India directly to exhibitor@itb-india.com. Significantly, it was the first-ever edition of ITB India. The 3-day B2B travel trade show was being organised by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and supported by Messe Berlin (Singapore). The ITB India organisers will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates based on official assessments of the overall risk situation.

Online travel aggregator, MakeMyTrip has announced the expansion of its existing Franchise Program where it is looking for new strategic partners. Interested people can call on 7838166660 or email at Franchiseenquiry@makemytrip.com The company is calling all enterprising business-owners and entrepreneurs interested in nurturing a sustainable, profitable business and who can associate with MakeMyTrip and take benefits of attractive commissions, online booking tool with live inventory for instant quotations, training, post-sales, visa and operational support.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the cancellation of its Annual Summit scheduled to take place from March 31- April 3, 2020, in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE due to evolving dynamics of the spread of the COVID-19 globally. In 2021, the summit will be hosted by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA) and for next year’s event will be announced in due time, announced Dr Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. Delegates who have paid the registration fee or purchased tickets for the PATA Foundation Charity Dinner have the option of transferring the registration fee and/or the Charity Dinner ticket fee to the PATA Annual Summit 2021 or receive a full refund.

The experience center located at the hotel lobby would allow users to indulge in an immersive 8K 3-d, computer-generated virtual environment that can be explored and interacted with as per the client’s requirements. This technology , launched in association with VR-Tech startup, The Knotty Tales additionally allows the product to be carried to the doorsteps of the potential customers and allow a technologically advanced way to explore a hotel like never before. The experience centre was inaugurated by Dr Mahesh Sharma, MP, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ex-Central Minister, Government of India.