Category Archives: Associations

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has recently announced the theme for its 34th Annual Convention as ’20 Million Tourists: Challenges & Possibilities’, to be held in Visakhapatnam from September 6-9, 2018. While announcing the theme, Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO said, “The theme has been finalised after consideration from the Ministry of Tourism. We will hold discussions on it and will try to look how we can achieve this target. A session will be held on hotels and airlines during the convention. The theme has been finalised by the Executive Committee.” The association has already announced the governing body for the convention. While Rajiv Mehra has been appointed as the Chairman, Rajesh Mudgil, Hony Secretary, IATO has been appointed as Co-Chairman. Amaresh Tiwari has been named as Convener for IATO Run for Responsible Tourism. The venue of the convention is Hotel Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach. Talking about IATO’s activities in last one month, Mehra said, Mehra said, “We conducted a roadshow to the US with Ministry of Tourism where 25 active members of IATO participated. We also concluded IATO’s Chapter Meeting in Mumbai, attended by Hony Secretary Rajesh Mudgil.”

PATA India Chapter has announced that it will organise The Tourism PowerHouse from August 5-6, 2018 at The Park New Delhi. The announcement was made at PATA India Chapter’s 7th Update and Outlook Meeting in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism at The Claridges, New Delhi, which saw in attendance, Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Chairman – PATA India Chapter; Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and MP Mall, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The PowerHouse will be presided over by Verma and Mario Hardy, CEO, PATA. Speaking about the PowerHouse, Verma said, “We hope to draw eminent speakers from all over the world to speak on contemporary issues like responsible tourism, sustainable tourism, marketing, digital marketing, etc. Eminent speakers will be invited from various countries who will be sharing global trends, initiatives and the best practices required to emulate in our country. We are hopeful that apart from the industry, state tourism boards, other organisations and stakeholders will also be participating because it is going to be a very useful interaction for us as well as all the stakeholders who have a stake in promoting tourism to this country.”  

More than 300 foreign delegates are expected to participate in the PATA adventure travel conference, to be held in Rishikesh from February 13-15, 2019, a senior official said. PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2019 (ATRTCM) would be hosted by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. “Uttarakhand won bid this time. The travel mart is a better way of showcasing the state to international clients,” said Dilip Jawalkar, Secretary, Uttarakhand Tourism. The event, that brings together public and private sector players involved in the adventure tourism, would be held from Responding to a query on whether there was any financial bidding for hosting the event, he replied in the negative. “One has to commit tourist facilities for visiting travel agents like accommodation, transportation, site seeing, etc.” he added. This year, the conference was held in Abu Dhabi.

The Exceutive Committee of OTOAI led by its President Mahendra Vakharia has signed an MoU with Bunny Bhoola, Director, African Link Travel, for its convention during a press conference held in New Delhi. The association’s conventions till date have been primarily held in Asia and the Middle East – Manila, Bali and Ras Al Khaimah respectively. “Cape Town is a stunning city with table mountain as the backdrop. A lot of excitement is generated since the time we have made convention annoucements as a slow teaser. We have been receiving calls and enquiries from members about packages and commencement of bookings. I am confident that it’s going to be big sell-out,” said Vakharia. Clearing myths about the water scarcity issue in Cape Town, he said, “Everybody in the city are extremely conscious of how they are going to conserve and consume water. The way people have tackled the concern is incredible. Cape Town aims to cut down the usage of water to 50 litres per person within the next few months. With taps running in full swing, Cape Town is ready and alive to welcome any number of tourists.”

According to a latest research study by Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), in 2016-17, rooms revenue contributed a notable 53.6 per cent to the total hotel industry revenue, an increase over its percentage share in 2015-16, and an improvement from the declining trend exhibited in the years 2012-13 to 2014-15. On the other hand, contribution from Food & Beverage and Banquets declined to 39.5 per cent from 41.5 per cent recorded in 2015-16. The contribution of the other operating departments has remained range-bound,with a marginal increase recorded in 2016-17 over the previous fiscal.

The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) has awarded Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Tarkarli Resort as a five-star dive resort  for scuba diving in Maharashtra concerning the safety of tourists. The organisation has granted accreditation to scuba diving centers across 180 countries and India is one of them. Witnessing the demand for adventure sports, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is promoting Tarkarli as a scuba diving and snorkeling destination for tourists, where they can enjoy various diving activities including wreck diving and wall diving. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism &(EGS), Government of Maharashtra and Scuba divers of MTDC Tarkali Resorts received this prestigious award in the presence of Vijay Gautam, (IAS), Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra & MD, MTDC.

India’s tourism sector attracted capital investments of US$ 47.8 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach US$ 95.3 billion by 2028,  according to World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC’s) Economic Impact 2018 report. International hotel chains are increasing their presence in the country, as it will account for around 47 per cent share in the tourism and hospitality sector of India by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2022, increasing from 44 per cent in 2016. Berggruen Hotels is planning to add around 20 properties under its mid-market segment ‘Keys Hotels’ brand across India by this year. Hilton plans to add 18 hotels pan India by 2021, along with 15 operational hotels under its brands namely, Hampton, Hilton Garden Inn, Conrad, Hilton Hotels & Resorts and DoubleTree by Hilton. Marriott International also plans to add 20 more properties to its existing portfolio of 98 hotels in India.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) at a press conference has announced that it will host its 18th regional convention in Sri Lanka. The convention will be held from June 27 to June 30 this year and it will be the associations first regional convention to be held outside the country. The convention will attended by key policy makers, International government representatives, investors and industry stalwarts. Kumar DE Silva, Chairman, Sri Lanka Conventions Bureau, Sanath Ukwatte, President of Hotel Association of Sri Lanka, Aravinda De Silva, Deputy Chairman, Ideal Motors Pvt Ltd, John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs and Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Honorable High Commissioner, High Commission of India will be the distinguished dignitaries for the opening evening at the convention. The second day will begin with a city tour paired with a lunch at a local restaurant followed by traditional performance and a rendition of both the national anthems later in the evening at the Hilton Grand Ball Room. The third day will be dedicated to business and networking with four different sessions on the various aspects of hotel operations, food and travel bloggers, hotel interiors trends and emerging restaurant trends and emerging trends in Sri Lankan cuisine. Dilip Datwani, President, HRAWI said, “This is our 18th regional convention and also first time we are having the convention out of India. The reason for hosting the convention out of the country is because it is more of a cultural exchange.”

The Hotels and Restaurants Association of North India (HRANI) has said that the shortage of water in Shimla is back to normal. Adequate arrangements have been made by the state government and water supply is being ensured to hotels in order to facilitate tourists. Sanjay Sood, President, HRANI & EC Member, FHRAI said, “the inflow of tourist that took a hit due to water shortage in Shimla the capital city of Himachal Pradesh is slowly getting back to normal and but now things are in better shape. There should not be any apprehensions in visiting the city as guest service is our prime concern. Beautiful weather & mesmerising hills await to welcome you”. “The hotel industry is grateful to Jairam Thakur, Honourable Chief Minister and Acting Chief Justice Shri Sanjay Karol for their intervention in resolving the issue and ensuring proper water supply. HRANI requests the media to highlight the normalcy in water supply through its reports so that tourism re-gains momentum in the state” he further continued. “As responsible citizens, let us pledge to save and conserve natural resources. Reduce – Recycle and Reuse should be the mantra, we all should adopt,”he said.

Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during 2017 were USD 27,742 mn with a growth of 17.0 per cent over 2016, according to a recent report on inbound tourism by FICCI and Yes Bank. This growth trend is dependent on many external factors including exchange rate and socio–political scenario. However, despite global undulations, FEEs have consistently contributed a significant share to the tourism GDP of India. The rising flow of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) is clearly a function of the stellar growth performance of emerging tourism trends like MiCE along with spiritual travel and medical tourism. Furthermore, it goes without saying that FTAs have been able to garner considerable resources for the country and started contributing significantly to the economy.