Category Archives: Associations

Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Punjab Chapter held its Annual General Meeting on 2 August 2019 in Jalandhar. The meeting elected Gurjeet S.Sekhon of Ace Vacations & Travels, Amritsar as its Chairman, Narinder Davesar of Bharti Travel Advisor (Regd.) as its Secretary and Pankul Sharma of Sharma Travels, Jalandhar as Treasurer for a period of two years. TAAI is India’s premier, nodal, largest and oldest Travel & Tourism Association.

Ahead of its 35th annual convention in Kolkata, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has launched the new official logo for the event during the monthly interactive luncheon meeting in Delhi while sharing details about the theme as well. Reminiscent to the cultural importance of West Bengal, the logo and the theme of the convention is based on the most popular public festival of the state- Durga Pooja. Launching the logo and inviting all the IATO members and travel trade, Atree Bhattacharya, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Government of West Bengal said that the eastern state has lot of niche products to offer for enhancing the tourism offerings of the state. “I welcome all the members of IATO to come to Kolkata for the convention and to spend some time in going around Bengal because the state has changed a lot in the recent times. We have made a lot of progress, our government and Chief Minister are very much supportive for tourism. We understand a huge amount of goodwill that can be created from large number of tourists coming to the state during and after the convention. Sharing details about the theme and sessions during the convention, Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO said, “The theme for the convention is Durga Puja. The sessions are yet to be finalised but more likely they will be themed around the tourism potential of the state, prospering cruise tourism in West Bengal, tackling challenges from Online Tour Operators, exploring experiential and heritage tourism in Kolkata. Amid the digitisation of our working styles, we will also have a session on digital tourism apart from a usual motivational session for the IATO members. Everything is well planned and in …

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.”

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.

Neeraj Malhotra, Co-founder and CEO, Ganpati Travels has been re-elected as the Chairman, Northern Region, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). Gaurav Dogra, Founder, Plan Your Holiday was re-elected as the Hony. Secretary uncontested. Manish Saxena, Executive Director, Century Travels is the new Hony. Treasurer. The election was conducted at Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi. On being declared the Chairman, Malhotra said, “I am thankful for the members in the region to come in big numbers and vote for me. I am truly overwhelmed and I will be continuing my pursuit to educate the members of the region, and bring technology to them to boost their businesses.”  

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has launched its online marketplace for members—TAFI Connect. Ashwani Sharma, Chapter Chairman, TAFI-North, said “TAFI Connect would be the online tool for members to conduct their business online with a huge inventory of hotels and packages. It would also allow them to do business with each other,” he added. Pranita Baveja, Founder & CEO, Traviate.com, showcased the features of TAFI Connect and even gave them a demo of the product. Members can now enroll themselves and be live on TAFI Connect to use its services and grow their businesses.  

Winners of the 2019 PATA Grand and Gold Awards were recently revealed by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). It has been announced that Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, will be presented the PATA Gold Award 2019 for Marketing – Primary Government Destination for its ‘Find the Incredible You’ campaign. The awards will be handed over at the 2019 PATA Gold Awards Dinner and Award Presentation in Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan, during PATA Travel Mart 2019. This year’s awards attracted 197 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide, and winners were selected by an independent judging committee. Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA, said, “On behalf of PATA, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to all the 2019 Grand and Gold Award winners, as well as all of this year’s participants for their submissions. I look forward to celebrating the accomplishment of this year’s winners who truly represent the values of the Association in working towards a more responsible travel and tourism industry in the Asia Pacific region.”

Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI, claims that they had high hopes from the government this time, but budget again disappoints. Nothing in there especially for the tourism industry. From our end, we have been having a lot of meetings with the government, and had also submitted a wishlist, but nothing has come of it. Adventure tourism is the future of job generation in India with many adventure activities possible in all parts of India, may that be the Himalayas, deserts or coastlines. It’s unfortunate that this has not been considered. The impetus on last mile connectivity through building 1.25 lakh kilometers of roads under PM Gram Sadak Yojna is a positive move. The only news in the tourism front stressed on development of 17 iconic tourism sites to be upgraded to world class levels to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists. The Prime Minister had identified that out of the Five pillars (Five Ts), ‘Tourism’ is one of the most important, and, in India, it aims to achieve greater heights and new milestones. But that is missing in this budget.

Complementing the Finance Minister for her maiden budget, Sanjay Narula, Vice President, TAAI, says that more has been outlaid for infrastructure. “I appreciate the fact that FDI has been relaxed for aviation and surface transport has got impetus because if you don’t have good roads, the tourism doesn’t get a boost. In terms of tourism we expected more. On taxation there should have been some relief for the industry, which has not come,” he says.