Category Archives: Associations

A KPMG report on potential impact of COVID-19 on Indian economy says that along with large scale cancellations, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) estimates that the hotel, aviation and tourism sector may incur loss of about US$85 billion due to travel restrictions imposed on foreign tourists. The report also indicated that outbound and inbound travel to India will be at an all-time low with impact likely to be felt on both white and blue collar jobs.

FAITH had an urgent meeting with Ministry of Commerce to discuss measures on tourism exports. These include rating the SEIS @10% and crediting it immediately on the basis of previous financial year, deemed export status , SEIS on gross forex earnings, zero rating of tourism exports and GST refunds to tourists, strategic focus on MICE sector, EPCG on tourist vehicles and relaxing export obligations among others. Most of the tourism enterprises support  their infrastructure (hard & soft) by managing different tourist seasons. As all global source markets are hit, it will be domestic business of India  which will keep India tourism businesses  running. Thus, FAITH also has requested the Ministry of Commerce to request Piyush Goyal, who is both, the Commerce and the Industries Minister to take up the request for the survival support for the whole tourism travel & hospitality industry with the PM. These include deferment of all statutory liabilities, setting up a COVID 19 Tourism relief fund for interest free 10 year working capital loan for salaries & establishment costs , increase of banking moratorium period to 12 months without any interest for or for direct benefit transfer to affected employees and a national legislative tourism  task force of central and state governments.   Faith has also requested ESI funds to be used for compensating employees as ‘stay at home’ is a forced and mandatory curative medical need to fight the virus. They have also requested PF coverage of all tourism travel & hospitality employees as under the PM Rozgar Pradhan Yojana.  Faith has also shared examples from the US & UK, Thailand and Indonesia where salary support, taxes exemption and stimulation of domestic travel is being …

In a statement, The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has said that travel agents should issue refunds to their clients only when the same is received by them from the airlines or IATA. Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI stated that they have raised strong objections on the refund issues and mechanism with all airlines and IATA while also seeking the Ministry of Civil Aviation to direct the airlines to refund all monies since additional funds of the agents is also blocked with airlines paid for advances in float accounts of low-cost carriers operating in India. TAAI has told its members to inform their customers, who desire to refund their tickets, that they shall be updated as soon as they receive refunds from airlines/IATA for the tickets issued and also assure that the same shall be given.

The Returning Officer for IATO Elections 2020, Akshay Kumar in a meeting with IATO EC decided to postpone the association’s election scheduled to take place on April 25 amid ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Starting 6th April, the elections are postponed by 30 days. The IATO EC will meet after 30 days to decide upon new dates. The election should, however, take place within 90 days starting 6th  April 2020. The timelines suggested during the meeting varied from two months to all the way till 2021. In case the election cannot be held within 90 days, the Returning Officer recommended that IATO call for an EGM and allow the house to decide upon the new dates for election. In the interim, the Office Bearers and EC of IATO are hereby allowed to work and lead the association in the best interests of its members and the industry at large.

The Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA) is preparing to conduct its second webinar for its members on April 8,2020. This time it will be on technology conducted by Karthik Venkataraman, Head of Business Development, GMR Tech Solutions. He will talk about the importance of having a digital presence during such challenging times. The association’s first webinar was conducted on April 6, 2020 where more than 100 ETAA members from across India attended. This webinar focussed on ‘Bonding’ and it was a one hour session conducted by TEDX speaker Bharat Jethani who also helps in community building. The members also suggested some unexplored destinations that can be promoted to domestic tourists once things get back to normal. ETAA plans to conduct more such events in the future to engage its members.

Addressing concerns from member agencies regarding refunds/credits from airlines/ IATA due to the impact of Covid2019 as customers are demanding refunds from travel agents, TAAI has said, “With reference to the unilateral decision of the airlines to give credit notes and no cash refunds, we have made it very clear to all concerned that, cash refunds are required due to the global pandemic situation. It is the right of the passenger to get back his amount paid in stipulated time. Cancellation charges shall not be borne by the traveller due to the cancellation of flights/ lockdown situations/ banning of flights by government of India as well as of other countries, etc.” In an official statement by TAAI to its members, it was written, “We are in daily communications with the Indian Prime Minister’s office(PMO), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Niti Aayog, IATA Global Head Quarters, IATA-India, all airlines individually including Low Cost airlines in India. We are working in support with, all associations of travel, tourism & hospitality trade under UFTAA, FAITH, CII and other leading trade bodies. Our concerns have been voiced not only in our communications but also in mainline media being TV channels & newspapers, trade media as well as social media.” The TAAI team urged its members to be patient, claiming that the as Govt. of India, is prioritising the requests of citizens, industries, trade, travellers, etc. and are actioning to the best of their abilities, with timelines. “Their main objective right now is to ensure the health safety of all persons and providing proper medical …

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the launch of the PATA Crisis Resource Center and Tourism Recovery Monitor, a unified platform that provides reliable and up-to-date policy statements, authoritative information, and tourism indicators from around the globe. The aim is to provide a global centralised repository of reliable information for users based on their needs. The PATA Crisis Resource Center is a result of a pilot Expert Task Force (ETF) led by PATA Immediate Past Chair Sarah Mathews to accumulate knowledge, generate support, and help members and industry stakeholders across the globe access solutions by governments, while also assisting governments in understanding the challenges through the travel impact survey. PATA Vice Chair Soon Hwa Wong also led an ETF to establish the PATA Tourism Recovery Monitor, an integrated resource for strategic tourism planners and decision makers to keep fully abreast of the fast changing environment. Both initiatives are housed under one microsite.

As of March 2020, out of 4,632 meetings scheduled for the year 2020, ICCA and CIMERT have found a total of 393 international association meetings which have been identified for postponements, cancellations and relocation due to COVID-19, which is 8.5% of the total events. Out of these 41 per cent are in the Asia Pacific. The unfolding COVID-19 crisis has significantly affected the meetings industry with events being postponed, relocated or cancelled. Since February 2020, ICCA and CIMERT have embarked on a joint research project to bring their connected expertise together to monitor the status of meetings in the ICCA Association Database. This is part of ICCA’s wider initiative to work with CIMERT (Center of International Meetings Research and Training, Supported by ICCA) to track meetings which have been affected by the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease now called COVID-19.

Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India’s (HRAWI) has offered the State Government access to over 500 of its member hotel rooms in the city. Amidst the lockdown, hotels across the country are doing their bit to instill hope and spread the message of love in the ensuing Novel Coronavirus outbreak. Part of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India’s (HRAWI) attempt to keep its members tethered and united during a crises which has affected the hospitality sector the most, hotels are displaying the symbolic heart across the front facades of their building properties. The heart is also a show of support and appreciation to all the women and men working across disciplines to keep the wheels of humanity moving. “These are the most trying times for us humans, as a race. Knowing that there is someone out there for you if you need them, gives hope. At this juncture, we all need hope and we are doing everything that we can to offer it. The lit up heart is a symbolic representation of the hospitality and tourism industry and we want to tell everyone that we’re here for them,” says Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, President, HRAWI.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has released its updated assessment of the likely impact of the COVID-19 on international tourism. Considering the unparalleled introduction of travel restrictions across the world, the UN specialised agency for tourism expects that international tourist arrivals will be down by 20% to 30% in 2020 when compared with 2019 figures. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers are based on the latest developments as the global community faces up to an unprecedented social and economic challenge and should be interpreted with caution in view of the extreme uncertain nature of the current crisis. An expected fall of between 20-30% could translate into a decline in international tourism receipts (exports) of between US$300-450 billion, almost one third of the US$ 1.5 trillion generated in 2019. Taking into account past market trends, this would mean that between five to seven years’ worth of growth will be lost to COVID-19. Putting this into context, UNWTO notes that in 2009, on the back of the global economic crisis, international tourist arrivals declined by 4%, while the SARS outbreak led to a decline of just 0.4% in 2003. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UNWTO said, “Tourism is among the hardest hit of all economic sectors. However, tourism is also united in helping to address this immense health emergency – our first and utmost priority – while working together to mitigate the impact of the crisis, particularly on employment, and to support the wider recovery efforts through providing jobs and driving economic welfare worldwide.”