Category Archives: Associations

HRAWI organises seminar for members on ban on plastic products

Having sought advice from experts on the subject of use of plastic products, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) in the interest of its members and the industry, has recently conducted a seminar on the subject in Mumbai. It had invited Dr Sangita Hasnale, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, Nodal Officer of Plastic Ban, MCGM to share her insights. “The industry is in agreement with the decision to do away with the use of plastic. The use of materials that disturb the ecology and which eventually may cause irreparable damage to our ecosystem has to be abandoned. The urgency in implementing this ban is understandable but it has repercussions for businesses. We are looking for all possible options to regularise the day to day functions without the use of plastic,” says Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI. “One of the more significant consequences of the ban has been the disruption in managing food deliveries. While budgeting expenses, hoteliers and restaurateurs take into account all its revenue sources. Additionally, adopting eco-friendly materials has cost implications which will raise the prices on the menu and may not be appreciated by the customer. We are seeking the most constructive way to cope with the change and hope to come out with a win-win solution,” concludes Datwani.

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Business travel spending to grow at 6.7% in 2018

Business travel spending is expected to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2018 and rise to 7.0 per cent per annum between 2018E-2028, according to a recent report by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The emergence of business hubs like Mumbai (Finance), Bengaluru (IT), Chennai (IT) and Delhi (Manufacturing, IT) is likely to boost business travel. Leisure travel spending (inbound and domestic) generated 94.6 per cent of direct travel and tourism GDP in 2017 US$ 201.7 billion compared with 5.4 per cent for business travel spending US$ 11.6 billion. Leisure travel spending is expected to grow at 7.6 per cent in 2018 and rise to 7.1 per cent per annum between 2018E-2028.

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Kuldeep Bhartee elected as president of Skål Bombay

Kuldeep Bhartee, General Manager (Area Manager – West) ITC Hotels, and General Manager, ITC Maratha, was elected unopposed as the President of Skål International, Bombay Club in its recently-held 62nd Annual General Meeting at the West End Hotel in Mumbai. More than 80 members attended the event. Bhartee gave a presentation on his vision and goals of the club along with the roadmap which lay ahead. He said, “Mumbai has witnessed a tremendous growth in international and domestic tourist arrivals in 2017. This strong momentum is expected to continue in the coming years. Being an elite club, the management committee of the club will rise to the occasion and will work closer with all stakeholders to ensure it benefits every member.” The new Skål Club of Bombay committee members are Kuldeep Bhartee as President, Sunil Chopra as Vice President, Vaibhav Kedia as Vice President, Sunil Acharya as Secretary, Kunal Sampat as Jt Secretary and Arvind Tandon as Treasurer. The Committee Members are Suresh Gulrajani, Rosita Haribal, Jyot Jhaveri, Vinayakk Laud and Sujata Mariwala. The Co-opted Members are Rakesh Marrott and Jason O’Conner.    

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TAFI Western India launches credit facility scheme with IHCL

The Western India Chapter of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) became the first association chapter to initiate a joint bank guarantee scheme for its members for hotels. It has started the pilot project with India Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). Abbas Moiz, Chairman, TAFI (Western India), said, “TAFI has signed an agreement for credit facility for small and mid-sized agents on the lines of a joint bank guarantee arrangement. With this, mid-sized agents will be able to get credit from IHCL for their domestic hotels for booking of up to eight rooms. This is a pilot that IHCL is running with the Western Indian Chapter of TAFI. It could be a new stream of income or business for agents. It is like getting recognition directly from the hotel rather than going through a third party aggregators or online portals. You are now getting a chance to create an identity for yourself and building a relationship with them with a very good arrangement and at a very good price.” Moiz adds that while some of them are already booking the hotel directly, this way offers a bit of leeway and extends a credit facility for at least for a month as long as they don’t cross that slab. “It allows you to pay through a centralised billing and accounting is not an issue here. It has its advantages and that is why we thought of offering this to our members,” he says.

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MOT & PATA India’s roadshows in Europe from Sep 25-Oct 4

In an effort to promote inbound tourism from important source markets, PATA India Chapter, in collaboration with Ministry of Tourism, will conduct India Tourism B2B Meet to Europe from September 25-October 4, 2018. Meetings are proposed to be held with travel agents and tours operators in Rome, Milan, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Geneva and Paris. The roadshow will commence with an introduction of sellers and a 15-minute Incredible India presentation, followed by a 5-minute product presentation by Air India. Each roadshow will have a two-hour B2B session between Indian sellers and local tour operators and travel agents. All these markets have a variety of travellers representing both high end as well as mid-market. Their interest in India as a preferred destination is well established over many years and is focused on its history, culture, wellness, beach tourism amongst others. Air India will support the association with preferred air fares for delegates participating in these roadshows. 100 per cent of the basic fare will be waived on each ticket as per the applicable booking class for such tickets. Participants will only be charged applicable taxes, fuel surcharge and government levies for travel. Authority for tickets will be issued on a first come first serve basis, only after full non-refundable participation fee has been paid by the participating organisation.    

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Skål International India’s National Congress to be held in August in Kolkata

Skål International India’s National Congress will be held from August 17-19 in Kolkata. Commenting on the upcoming events of the association, Ranjit Vig, Secretary, Skål International Delhi said, the general body’s AGM will take place on August 14, 2018. The Skål International India’s World Congress will be held in Mombasa, Kenya later this year, he said. He announced this during the luncheon meeting hosted at The Park, New Delhi. During the meeting, special invitee and guest speaker, Rajeev Talwar, CEO, DLF addressed the members on promoting tourism within India. He said, “The industry should focus more on promoting destinations within India for Indian tourists. The domestic market has huge scope of growth.” Talwar along with Sunil Ghadiok, President, Skål International Delhi also felicitated new Skål members with membership certificates.

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IATO updates members on convention and activities

In its monthly luncheon meeting held at The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa, New Delhi, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) updated its members about its upcoming convention and participation in various roadshows with the Ministry as well as in the India Tourism Mart. Chairing the meeting was Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO; EM Najeeb, Senior Vice President, IATO and Rajesh Mudgill, Honorary Secretary, IATO. They attended to the queries of the members and solved their concerns regarding GST. The IATO Managing Committee also felicitated Ajeet Bajaj and his daughter Diya Bajaj for accomplishing the feat of climbing Mount Everest recently.  

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250 regional guides at TGFI Annual National Convention 2018 in Hyderabad

Around 250 regional level guides from different units of India recently attended the Tourist Guides’ Federation of India (TGFI) Annual National Convention in Hyderabad. Representatives from tourism associations like Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) also marked their presence at the event. The convention held discussions on current tourism policies, tourism promotion, tour guide fee revision, general body elections and cooperation with Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and IATO, etc. Sunita M Bhagwat, IFS, Commissioner, Department of Tourism, Government of Telangana was the chief guest for the inaugural ceremony. Shreevats Sanjay, Regional Director (South), India Tourism; Subhash Goyal, Honorary Secretary, FAITH; K Ranga Reddy, Chairman, IATO Telangana & Andhra Pradesh Chapter; C V Shankar Reddy, Assistant Director, India Tourism were also present at the opening ceremony. TGFI unanimously elected New Executive Body for 2018-2020. Ajay Singh has been elected as the President of the association.

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ADTOI elections to be held on August 11 in Delhi

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI) is set to conduct its elections on August 11, 2018 at the Metropolitan Hotel, New Delhi. The Returning Officer (RO) for the election would be Harbans Singh, Retd Secretary, Election Commission. This was announced at the General House meeting of the association recently. The current team will be completing its two-year term on August 16, 2018.  

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