Category Archives: Agents

The first day of GPS Kochi set the tone of the show by opening with a session that laid a strong emphasis on the environment and how all stakeholders in the tourism industry can do their bit by being a little mindful and aware. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, Global Panorama Showcase (GPS), said, “We had an entire session in the morning that focuses on simple do’s and dont’s for water conservation and importance of rain-water harvesting for a responsible citizen. We also spoke about the dangers of plastic use and how it can be easily avoided. I’m a polymer engineer by education and I understand how toxic plastic can be if not used wisely.” He said the need of the hour is for us not just as tourism stakeholders but also as citizens of this world to go back to the age when we used recyclable things. “We also spoke about how operators can educate their clients on what they can take with them from a hotel and what they cannot. Some times it’s just a matter of informing them and being guided. They do it out of ignorance. So we played a video that addresses this issue as well,” Singh said. The Kochi edition saw high attendance from buyers coming from all over Kerala such as Madurai, Coimbatore, Thissur, Trivandrum, Calicut, Kannur, Trichy, Salem, Tirur,  Erode, and Kozhikode. Dates for EcoCONNECT will be announced during the Kolkata show.

Taking ‘climate change’ as a matter of concern, Travel Designer Group on 27 July 2019 set an example by creating a “GO Green” atmosphere in its Corporate Office in Ahmedabad by bringing in potted plants in its premises. Go Green initiative started with the objective of every family member of Travel Designer Group being cautious over their carbon footprint imposition. Acts of green can be made simple with recycling, reducing and reusing resources in both home and office to imbibe go green habits. Also, the motive was to contribute and continue nurturing the nature which will help all the employees in getting fresh air and energy. The enthusiastic employees of the company wore green colored clothes and participated in the event with full dedication. The plants were placed at the respective spots and the employees promised to take care of it too, and as the tradition goes, pictures were taken with placards having slogans related to the issue. The event came to an end with a “Slogan Writing Competition” that was conducted for the employees. The various departments competed with each other and the best one was given gifts and hampers. Like, Travel Designer Group, other travel companies should also come up with such initiatives and do their part in contributing to environmental conservation. Kudos to Travel Designer Group for their participation in this noble cause.

Commenting on the government’s decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir and bifurcating the state in two union territories, PP Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI) said that the Union Government’s move will definitely affect the number of tourists going to the state amidst fear and security reasons. He adds, “The tourism industry has already come to standstill in the state after the government ordered to stop the Amarnath Yatra and asked all the tourists to leave the state immediately. There is a sense of fear and security concern among visitors amid presence of military forces and possibility any riot-like situation in the valley. If the government itself doesn’t want tourists to stay in the state so how the industry will motivate the visitors to travel to the state? It has become hard for us to promote the state currently with such sensitive condition. Going forward, it will deeply impact the number of tourists.”

Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO, says, “I am quite hopeful that situation should normalise soon with the change in the scenario as tourism is the main bread and butter of the people of Kashmir. Although the number of tourists has gone down recently, I think that by September, the situation should become normal and tourists will start going back to Jammu & Kashmir. Once things start settling down, we will plan a roadshow in association with our state chapter to promote the destination again among FTOs and DMCs. I think tourism will grow now with more international hotel chains coming into the region. With Ladakh being a separate union territory, the development of the area will take place and again it will become a friendly tourist destination.”

According to Deleks Namgyal, General Secretary, All Ladakh Tour Operators Association (ALTOA), the demand for Ladakh to be declared as a Union Territory has been pending for a long time. He says, “We are happy, because the demand to separate Ladakh from Kashmir politics has been there for the last 30-35 years. Being a part of J&K has not really helped Ladakh’s development. For the past few days, there has been some unrest, but Ladakh has not been affected. Being a part of J&K, advisory was issued by some embassies, governments, as well as countries like US, because of which there were some concerns and enquiries by tourists travelling to Ladakh. We did get a circular, but ou region has not been under curfew. Road trips from Srinagar have been impacted. However, flight operations remain undisturbed and so does internet.”

EBIXCASH World Money was invited by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to present a paper as part of the second ground-breaking ceremony and Investor Summit on July 27th-28th, 2019 in Lucknow. The event also conducted a business session with panelists that included Venkataramani Prakash, Head (Retail Business), EBIXCASH World Money; Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and MD of Air India; Prasoon Joshi, Chairman Central Board of Film Certification; Subhash Ghai, Film Director and Producer; Steve Borgia, President Ecotourism Society of India & CMD Indeco Leisure Hotels Pvt. Ltd; Satish Kaushik, Producer, Director and Actor; Boney Kapoor, Film Producer; and Raju Srivastava, Chairman Film Development Council of Uttar Pradesh. Speaking about the event, Prakash says, “As a key member of the tourism eco-system, our views on the augmentation of travel, tourism, and film shoots in Uttar Pradesh were sought. Our paper, detailing our views was presented during a panel discussion on tourism and film shoot. During the session we apprised the audience of the scale and size of EBIXCASH World Money and the travel companies within our portfolio. We also took time to meet the CM and the Chief Secretary and apprise them of our business. The chief secretary asked us to meet us to explore synergy between the government and business. We also met key members of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh.” Also present at the event were Amit Shah, Hon Home Minister of India, Yogi Adityanath Hon Chief Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and top industrialists including Gautam Adani, Chairman and Managing Director Adani group, N Chandrasekharan, Chairman Tata Sons, and Shiv Nadar, Chairman HCL.

The upcoming Tamil Nadu Travel Mart (TTM), scheduled from September 19-22, at Chennai Trade Centre will showcase their products and have business meetings with 1000 plus buyers. The registrations for the same have been opened. The three-day exhibition will witness more than 300 exhibitors showcasing tourism business opportunities in the state along with 1000 domestic and international buyers.

The Maharashtra Tour Organisers Association (MTOA) has a new team at its helm. The association held its AGM on Sunday, July 28, 2019 in Mumbai. The new committee members have been elected for a term of three years from 2019 to 2022. The new MTOA President is Prabhu Joshi of Heena Tours, and the elected Vice President is Vishwajit Patil of Raja Rani Travels. Chetan Dunakhe of Madhuchanda Travels is the new General Secretary of MTOA and the Treasurer is Rajan Parekh of Arihant Travels. The two Joint Secretarys are Amol Hendre of Eventures and Dhiraj Nishar of Choice Tours.   Speaking about the focus areas for the new team, Joshi said, “MTOA has completed 50 years and to celebrate this milestone we plan to celebrate on a grand scale. The new as well as the old committee will jointly take efforts to organise the 50th year celebration event which will be announced soon. Both our past presidents Sudhir Patil (Veena World) and Atul Mohile (Contour) have taken great efforts to take MTOA to greater heights and their contribution for the association is invaluable.”  

Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI) is all set to open two new chapters in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Tamil Nadu after its convention, revealed PP Khanna, President, (ADTOI). “Once we are free from the convention, we are planning to start two more chapters, which are almost ready, which will be in MP and Tamil Nadu. By September-October, we will have new entrants in the ADTOI family,” he adds.

The Global Panorama Showcase(GPS) has kick-started in Lucknow. Elaborating on the 2 days B2B travel trade, outbound  event focussed on Tier-II Tier-III cities, Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS informed that ,”This is our second year in Lucknow, we had a very good response last year. The market has accepted that this is an E-event and have downloaded the app and pre registered. Through Lucknow we hope to reach the travel fraternity in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. This is a very promising market, and we hope to empower through knowledge, networking and face to face business interactions.’