Category Archives: Agents

Tripjack’s competition based on IPL matches not only has more than 3,000 winners till date but has also managed to engage its travel partners & create some buzz in the industry. Hasan Patel, Director, Tripjack, says, “We are seeing more and more users participate daily. Visit Tripjack.com and start playing now!” he said.

A new entrant in cloud-based hotel management software domain StreetGooser is offering free tech support to help the industry recover from the pandemic. Shakthivelu M, its MD & Co-Founder, says, “Our focus is on small to mid-sized properties to provide them with technology that won’t break their banks. We tweak our technology based on the clients’ needs.”

Randhir Singh Vaghela, Chairman, Gujarat Chapter, IATO, is leading the #JanAndolan campaign that aims to spread awareness about the safety precautions that the industry needs to follow strictly. He says, “I request the travel industry stakeholders to join #JanAndolan for everyday preventive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. We must strictly follow three things: wearing a mask at all times, sanitising hands on a regular basis and keep social distancing. For tourism to re-open safely we all have to adhere to this new normal.”

CommonPass, or a COVID-passport, is a technology framework that can be used by apps to verify an individual’s health status. It is being trialled by two airlines across a few sectors in the world. The system hopes to become a fail-safe way to verify a traveller’s health status and tally it against local entry laws. If it works, it could inspire governments to drop bans and quarantines.  

In a bid to revive the hard-hit tourism industry, Nepal announced that foreign tourists having COVID-19 negative report will not be required to quarantine themselves for seven days from October 17. Foreign trekkers may enter without quarantine if they produce a PCR negative report from October 17. Its tourism ministry is working to carry out instant antigen test for COVID-19 for foreign tourists upon their arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport.

Highlighting the reason why domestic tourism has not taken off in India, PP Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI), said, “The GST on tour operators should be 1.8% with full set offs and not 5% which is making domestic tour operators uncompetitive. To survive, the domestic tour operators need to be supported have an operating cash subsidy to pay their salaries and operating costs.”

Captain Swadesh Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) has said that India currently has negligible share in the US$ 750bn world adventure tourism industry which is poised to touch US$ 1.5 trillion in the post Covid world. “We want to work closely with the Central and State government to get at a respectable market share of 5-10% in the medium to long run in the international market,” he said.  

FM Nirmala Sitharaman made a slew of announcements to stimulate consumer spending and capital expenditure, including a special LTC (Leave Travel Concession) cash voucher. She said LTC funds could be used to spend on goods and items in the 12% GST category. However, FAITH and TAAI expressed disappointment stating that LTC funds of government employees will now be redirected to buy consumer goods.

Sharing her thoughts on the changes made by the FM on LTC, Jyoti Mayal, President of TAAI, said, “The Finance Minister in her stimulus speech has announced that government officials can use their LTC funds to buy consumer goods for the festive season. The tourism industry instead of being bailed out is now deprived of the LTC fund. Our industry is dying and our employees are losing jobs in every avenue but the Prime Minister has forgotten of our existence – the backbone of India.”