Category Archives: Associations

Sharing his views on the Union Budget, Subhash Goyal, Secretary General, FAITH, said, “As far as the Budget is concerned, there are very few things for tourism in it. One thing for the industry is inland waterways, which can also be used for tourism and second is development of iconic sites. Thirdly, the Government has again focused on aviation as well as on tax reduction for SMEs. However, overall there is no indication of any relief. The GST council might do something later, but nothing has been done for taxation on tourism to be five per cent and exemption on foreign exchange earnings. Overall, we are a little disappointed with the Budget. We still have to read the fine print, although from what we have seen, there are certain things regarding water and infrastructure, which are good. If they give infrastructure status to hotels and tour operators, it will be very good. What I don’t understand is to create employment, and the industry which gives the largest employment has not been given anything.”

The next convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is likely to be held in Kolkata from September 12-15, informed Rajesh Mudgill, Hony. Secretary, IATO. He said that further details will be announced in due course of time. “The 35th convention will likely be organised in Kolkata. We had some deliberations regarding the dates but things are almost finalised now. We are looking make this convention much bigger and better,” adds Mudgill. He also said the upcoming monthly luncheon meeting of the association, scheduled on July 10 at The Oberoi, Delhi will be followed by the Executive committee meeting, where the association is expected to discuss more about the preparations for the convention. Apart from working on the new IATO website, Mudgill also informed that the association is also looking to come up with a mobile app to facilitate convenience and more information to its members.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society, supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu is organising the 2nd edition of CII Tamil Nadu Travel Mart to showcase the potential of Tamil Nadu’s tourism on a global platform from 19-22 September in Chennai. 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.

With an intent to focus on supporting its members and foresee the trend and updates of the tourism industry, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), organised its first of the series ‘Knowledge Conclave’ in Delhi. The conclaves are meant to support TAAI members with a vision for the future and upgrade them with executive education. Sunil Kumar R, President, TAAI, “The objective of these Knowledge Conclaves is to help our members unlearn, update and upgrade their knowledge. Over the two-day conclave, we will have five different sessions on executive education including sessions aviation trend, technology and optimising business opportunities. With 120 members attending the conclave in Delhi, TAAI members can attend Conclave in other cities as well, if they miss out.” After Delhi, the Knowledge Conclave will take place in four other locations across India during June-July 2019. In Mumbai, the conclave is scheduled on 19-20 July. These five conclaves are based on geographical location and members of respective TAAI regions and chapters are invited to attend the conclaves.

The Confederation of Indian Industry is organising the Seventh Edition of Kerala Health Tourism from 3-4 July at Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi. The Kerala Health Tourism will mainly have 3 components – an International Conference, Exclusive Medical Exposition and B2B Meeting. The event will provide an interactive platform during which practitioners and leading experts in the Medical Tourism sector will share, discuss and construct strategies for future growth and innovation. We are expecting to have more than 400 delegates for the conference (national & international) and above 1000 visitors for the exhibition. The Kerala Health Tourism 2019 will deliberate on the Importance of Cultural Competency in International Patient Care; Challenges In Healthcare Insurance & Medical Tourism; Medical Tourism Marketing : New Age Online Marketing / The Power of Public Relations; The Future of Telemedicine and Health; Specialised Treatments in Health Tourism – Sports, Dentistry, Eye care, Geriatrics; Role of Medical Facilitators in Medical Tourism; Using Technology to Power your Healthcare Business etc. There will be a Banquet Session on day 1 on “Health Tourism and way forward” by an eminent personality – apart from Inaugural Sessions and Valedictory sessions of the Summit.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has signed an agreement with the Tourist Guides’ Federation of India to increase the guide fee by approximately 10 per cent effective from October 1. The new rates will be valid for a period of two years till September 30, 2021. Sharing more information, Rajeev Mehra, Vice President, IATO said that the agreement has been signed keeping in view the interest of certified tour guides across the country. “IATO President, Pronab Sarkar and TGFI President, Ajay Singh have signed an agreement to hike the fee. The fee and allowances agreed upon should be paid in full and are not negotiable. There will ne no extra charges in addition to the rates agreed upon for escorting groups.” It was also decided that a suitable imprest amount may be given to the guides before the commenecement of their agreement with the mutual understanding in case o outstation trips involving minimum one overnight. Usage and guides and fee structure shall be as per the laid down policies of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

After the success of its inaugural Tourism MasterClass last month, PATA India Chapter is now all set to organise its next educational workshop, an exclusive Business Management MasterClass titled, ‘Entrepreneurial Leadership-The Buck Stops Here’ on July 3 in Delhi. This MasterClass is targeted to attract owners/business leaders and aims to add to their knowledge and business management skills. The session will be conducted by Ashutosh Garg, mentoring expert from the corporate world, who has been a Corporate Leader at ITC on the one hand and a very successful and Professional Entrepreneur on the other, having established the 2nd largest pharmaceutical retail chain in India, Guardian Pharmacy. He has also worked in leadership positions at Lockheed Martin and Hughes. Recognised as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum and as an active member of Young Presidents Organisation, he brings rich experience both in running businesses in India and overseas. Registration are open now and the last date of enrolling is June 25, 2019. Limited seats on first come, first serve basis.

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators (ADTOI), along with the Govt. of Gujarat is set to organise its next convention in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from August 16-18, 2019, announced PP Khanna, President, ADTOI at their General House Meeting and GST session held at Hotel Samrat in New Delhi. PP khanna will be the Convention Chairman, while Anil Rajput and Sanjay Saxena will be the Co-Chairman. The venue of the convention has not been decided. Right now, committees are being made for the convention.

The majority of India’s inbound tourists (60.6 per cent) are from long haul source markets, that is, greater than six hours’ flights, according to a latest report by CAPA India research and analysis. Most of the world’s largest tourism destinations receive the largest proportion of their visitors from short and medium haul markets. This distance puts India at a strategic disadvantage in terms of cost and ease of access and increases the number of potential destinations it competes with that lie within a similar arc. It is relatively less well-placed to attract travellers planning short, spontaneous breaks.

At the recently concluded PATA Annual Summit & Board Meeting held at Cebu, Philippines, Yogendra Tripathi, Tourism Secretary, Government of India, Ravneet Kaur, Chairman & Managing Director, ITDC and Jatinder Taneja, Managing Director, Travel Spirit International, were appointed to the PATA Board. Yogendra Tripathi & Ravneet Kaur have also been appointed to the Government/Destination Committee of PATA. Vikram Madhok is already been a member of the Board since 2018. Thomas Thottathil, Vice President Cox & Kings India and SanJeet, Director DDP Publications are members of the board as Industry Council Proxy. The PATA Industry Council now has the five members from India including • Vikram Madhok, MD Abercrombie & Kent India • Jatinder Taneja, MD, Travel Spirit International Pvt Ltd • SanJeet, Director DDP Publications Pvt Ltd • Thomas C Thottathil, Vice President Cox & Kings Ltd. • Riyaz U.C, MD Spiceland Holidays