Category Archives: Associations

After the overwhelming response for the first and second editions of its Digital Conclave, TravTalk is all set to bring the third edition of the online conference on May 15 from 10 am to 1:30 pm, which would discuss pertinent issues in the industry at the time of COVID-19 crisis. There will be 3 sessions of 1 hour each and will see experts from different segments of travel, deliberating on the way forward. The panelists for first session, titled ‘The Reality of NO tourism!’ will be Rajiv Mehra from IATO, Bharat Atree from Caper Travel Company, and Debjit Dutta from Impression Tourism Services. Second session, titled ‘Hotels in the age of social distancing. Where are the robots?’ will have Mandeep Lamba from HVS ANAROCK, Dilip Puri from Indian School of Hospitality and Jatin Khanna from Marriot Hotels. For the third session, titled ‘Big ticket business! When do we start looking at weddings, corporate and M!CE travel?’, the panelists include Rajeev Jain from Rashi Entertainment, Rajdev Bhattacharya from Wipro Limited, and Rajeev Kale from Thomas Cook India.

Subhash Goyal, Secretary General, FAITH, has said that there hasn’t been much happening from the Government’s side to help the industry to revive it from the impact of COVID-19 crisis, unlike other countries. “We have asked the Governments since the beginning that either give us a bail-out package, or at least give 50% salary of employees of MOT recognised operators/agents after getting the list of their employees and respective salaries from them, which is already mentioned in the balance sheet. This needs to be done if the Government wants to save the industry,” he said.

For a second time, IATO has decided to defer its biennial election till such time the lockdown restrictions are lifted. The Returning Officer for IATO Elections 2020, Akshay Kumar in a meeting with IATO EC also decided that even post lifting of restrictions the association will need to accommodate the process of companies having to rebuild the business and open operations. Another meeting is scheduled for June-end, where an informed decision will be taken. IATO will also explore the viability of conducting online elections if the need arises. In the interim, the Office Bearers, EC and Chapter Chairmen of IATO are hereby allowed to work as normal with no restrictions.

The latest data from UNWTO shows that at least 100 million direct tourism jobs are at risk across the world even if international borders are gradually opened and travel restrictions are eased as early as July 2020. Should these closures and restrictions be extended up to early September or early December, the international tourism community faces the risk of as many as 120 million direct job losses. Prospects for the year have been downgraded several times since the outbreak and uncertainty continues to dominate. Though domestic demand is expected to recover faster than international demand, a majority of the industry feels, according to UNWTO, that signs of recovery will be visible only by Q4 2020, but mostly in 2021.

Pradip Lulla, President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has revealed that the association has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in a petition concerning the refund of air tickets bought for travel during the COVID-19 lockdown period. The primary plea was moved by the NGO Pravasi Legal Cell on April 27, 2020. He says, “This was done on May 6, 2020 through NGO Pravasi Legal on behalf of TAFI. But this is for all air ticket issuing agents in India. I estimate that the total volume of refunds would come to around Rs 800-Rs 900 crore as bookings were made not just for the summer holidays but also for student travel. This is for bookings made for all airlines – Indian as well as international. While we have approached the concerned authorities in the past through FAITH, the airlines have said that they will give refunds only after three months.” crucial funds remain blocked with the airlines for travel not undergone and which, in fact, has been cancelled. Lulla adds that some airlines have divided their bookings as per zones where Zone 1 is US, Zone 2 is Europe, and Zone 3 is South East Asia and for these they are giving refunds, but not for India that comes under Zone 4. “In Zone 4, they are changing penalty for cash refunds even when flight schedules are cancelled. We hope to hear from the Supreme Court on this issue soon,” Lulla adds on a positive note.    

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has outlined what the ‘new normal’ will look like as countries begin to end their COVID-19 lockdowns and ease travel restrictions. As travel gradually returns to normal over the coming months, WTTC predicts that the first to return will be domestic markets with staycations, then to a country’s nearest neighbours before expanding across regions, and then finally across continents to welcome the return of journeys to long-haul international destinations. WTTC also believes that younger travellers in the 18-35 age group, who appear to be less vulnerable to COVID-19, may also be among the first to begin travelling once again. The tourism council also informs that new protocols and standards are being defined following feedback and multiple conversations with WTTC members, as well as collaboration from associations who represent the different travel sectors.

According to a newly updated forecast by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), growth in international arrivals relative to 2019 figures is expected to rebound the fastest in Asia over the years to 2024. The release also suggests that this growth will be driven by intra-regional travel (Asia-to-Asia), with a rebound from a loss of almost 98 million arrivals between 2019 and 2020 to an increase of over 17 million between 2019 and 2021. All the source regions of Asia are projected to show growth between 2019 and 2021, with Europe and the Americas in particular, adding increases in arrivals of 2.5 million and 1.7 million, respectively over that period. By the end of 2021, Asia is predicted to have visitor arrivals numbering five per cent more than in 2019.

Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), has said that they have had several meetings with the Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding protecting the interest of their members, in the wake of the losses they have suffered because of not getting refunds from airlines amidst the COVID-19 crisis and the eventual shutting down of airline operations. She adds, “Tourism and aviation are inter-dependent. Both airlines and travel agents depend on each other for business and hence we have requested the Ministry of Civil Aviation to look at a solution that is a win-win situation for both. We don’t want airlines to go out of business, but also want to save our businesses. While airlines across the world are seeking monetary support for their survival, they should not be holding back the agents’ or customers’ money, which is lying with them as per advance bookings. They should refund the agents and customers, instead of giving credit shells.”

In a bid to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on staff salaries across the industry, TravTalk has initiated the ‘Travel and Tourism Salary Survey 2020’. The 2-minute survey is anonymous can be taken by clicking on https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3WP3JHM. Share your inputs without having to reveal your name or email. The survey would gauge how every sector is dealing with the crisis and possibly trigger discussions on best employment practices in the industry.

Under the newly updated forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the most likely scenario for international visitor arrivals into South Asia in 2020 is that visitor numbers are likely to reduce by 31% year-on-year. That effectively takes visitor volume back to levels last seen in 2012. At this stage, growth is expected to resume in 2021, returning to forecast levels by 2023. Much of course, depends on how quickly and completely the COVID-19 pandemic is contained and controlled. South Asia is also expected to suffer a loss of US$13.3 billion.