Category Archives: Associations

Under the ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of Ministry of Tourism, seven shortlisted companies or Monument Mitras have been given the Letter of Intent for the adoption of 14 monuments, which were presented at the closing ceremony of the three-week-long ‘Paryatan Parv’ at Rajpath Lawns, New Delhi. K.J. Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Government of India, said, “We had over 1200 events across numerous sites in the country, across schools, monuments etc. In the past 20 days, we have turned India into a land of celebrations with the help of our 18 sister ministries and thanks to the overwhelming participation of our own people.” SBI Foundation was shortlisted for the adoption of Jantar Mantar, Delhi, while TK International Limited would be adopting Sun Temple, Konark; Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneshwar, and Ratnagiri Monuments, Jajpur, Odisha. On the other hand, Yatra Online Pvt. Limited would adopt Hampi, Karnataka; Leh Palace, Jammu & Kashmir; Qutub Minar, Delhi and Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra. Travel Corporation of India Ltd. was shortlisted for the adoption of Mattancherry Palace Museum, Kochi, and Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi. Adventure Tour Operator Association of India (ATOAI) will be adopting Gangotri Temple Area and Trail to Gaumukh, as well as Mt. StokKangri, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. Special Holidays Travel Pvt. Ltd., along with Rotary Club of Delhi was shortlisted for the adoption of Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi, and NBCC would adopt Purana Quila, Delhi. Arun Jaitley, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister, Government of India, also the Chief Guest presented certificates to the ‘Best Participating Central Government Ministry and Best Participating State Government’ at the closing ceremony. The grand spectacle included cultural performances by different state troops, craft mela showing diverse handicrafts …

The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) will host its 8th Annual Convention-cum-Exhibition at Novotel, Varun Beach, Visakhapatnam from November 17-18, informed P P Khanna, President, ADTOI. The theme of the convention this year is ‘Domestic Tourism: Explore India – One Country, Many Worlds,’ under which the association will explore various facets of its convention venue – Visakhapatnam. Khanna says, “We are expecting over 300 delegates from across India. Through this convention, we hope to showcase the world-class facilities in Andhra Pradesh and its vast potential for domestic tourism. We will address key industry issues like GST and its impact on domestic tourism; the threat of online travel agents to the small and medium businesses and we will also deliberate on the ways the central government, state government and private players can work in collaboration to improve tourist infrastructure in the country.” Rajat Sawhney, Vice President and Convention Chairman, ADTOI, adds, “We realised that despite being a national association, we did not have a significant presence in South India. With this convention, we hope to leave an imprint in various parts of South India which will also benefit our members from the region. We also plan to start a state chapter in Andhra Pradesh soon.”

The upcoming wedding season starting in November may be impacted by 10-15 per cent, particularly wedding services like marriage garden/marriage hall booking, tent booking, confectionery services, photography and more, reveals industry chamber ASSOCHAM. The GST rate on most of these services has risen from 18 to 28 per cent. Destination wedding or the wedding tourism sector in India which accounts for less than 10 per cent share in the overall industry is not likely to face much adverse impact of GST and demonetisation as it is already a costly affair which mainly lures foreigners, NRIs, rich and famous people for weddings at beaches and royal palaces, says the ASSOCHAM paper. All footwear above Rs.500 is taxed at a whopping 18 per cent. Tax on gold and diamond jewellery has increased from 1.6 per cent to 3 per cent. The booking for a five-star hotel will cost 28 per cent extra in the form of GST. Also, event management service, will have to pay an additional 18 per cent GST on the cost. GST on marriage garden and hall booking is also 18 per cent, same as most other wedding services.

Rahul Lall has been appointed as the Secretary General for FHRAI (Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India). He completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Hotel Management from The Oberoi School of Hotel Management, New Delhi. He is from the Management Trainee batch(1985-1987). Prior to this he did his Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Delhi University. He is an alumnus of St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, Kolkata and Don Bosco School, Chennai. He brings with him over 30 years of progressive hotel experience spanning renowned hotel chains across the country. He has extensive operational, administrative and bottom line management experience. Coupled with a strong leadership and financial skill sets, he is ideally suited to take on the responsibilities of running the day-to-day administration of FHRAI. A Professional hotelier, he has worked with the Oberoi Group of Hotels for 15 years and thereafter with Sarovar Hotels. He has been in various capacities as General Manager, Area Director and Vice President Operations. He has over seen pre-opening and successful openings of various hotels. Prior to joining FHRAI he held the role of the Vice President Operations for the Dangayach Group of Hotels (Marriott Jaipur, Ramada Jaipur, Chomu Palace Hotel Jaipur, Four Points by Sheraton Agra and Park Plaza, Jaipur).

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has elected Christopher J. Nassetta, President, and CEO of Hilton, as the Council’s next Chairman. Nassetta joined Hilton in 2007 and since assuming the role of CEO he has brought Hilton hospitality to 27 new countries by adding 2,200 hotels to a network of more than 5,000 properties in 103 countries and territories. He has been a Member of WTTC’s Executive Committee since 2011 and Vice Chairman for North America since 2014. Nassetta will take over from current Chairman, Gerald Lawless, following the Council’s Annual General Meeting, which will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 17, 2018. Lawless said, “It has been an honour to serve as Chairman of WTTC for the past two years and I am delighted to be handing over to Chris Nassetta to steer the Council into its next phase of development. I am sure that he and Gloria Guevara, WTTC’s President and CEO, will form a strong team to advocate for the economic and social benefits of Travel & Tourism.” Nassetta said, “I would like to thank Gerald for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the global travel and tourism industry. I am also honoured to accept the role as WTTC Chair at a time of amazing opportunity and growth. I believe the Council can play an important role to bring governments and the industry together to deliver smart plans that support both security and international travel. I also believe that the unique scale and reach of WTTC members can be used to tackle significant global issues, including climate change and global youth unemployment.”

The World Economic Forum’s white paper on India’s tourism industry outlines the country’s $20 billion tourism opportunity that lies untapped. One of its recommendations is the formation of a tourism board. According to the White Paper titled ‘Incredible India 2.0 India’s $20 Billion Tourism Opportunity,’ a proposal to create a tourism board is put forward. It says, ‘India has more than 50 active foreign tourism boards, yet the country does not have its own tourism board. While it has a number of industry associations and state-level bodies, no public-private organisation represents the industry, and these bodies work independently to drive forward their own agenda. The industry is fragmented and hindered by poor coordination between the state and central government as well as within the central government itself. No single ministry is responsible for all the policies affecting the aviation, travel and tourism industry. The Ministries of Civil Aviation, Tourism, Home Affairs, Culture, and Road Transport and Highways, among others, have all been actively involved in the industry’s policies.’ The paper released in September this year goes on to add that this gap must be filled by bringing the public and private sectors together under an empowered and proactive body. ‘To fuel its success, the board would consider the structure, objectives and best practices implemented in other countries, keeping in mind India’s strengths and limitations.’ Speaking on the scope of implementation that this White Paper has, Tiffany Misrahi, Community Lead, Aviation, Travel & Tourism Industries, World Economic Forum, says, “The Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju, as well as Minister of State Jayant Sinha, along with the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, have been actively involved in …

The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) has elected its new team with Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC, as the Chairman, who was nominated by Hotel Association of India (HAI). The Vice Chairman is Akshay Kumar, CEO, Mercury Himalayan Explorations, who was nominated by Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI). The association also created an additional position of Vice Chairman, for which they have elected Sunil Kumar R, CEO, Travel World, who was nominated by Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).  Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group, who was nominated by Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), is the new Honorary Secretary, while Garish Oberoi, Partner, Hotel Uberoi Anand, has been declared as the Treasurer. Aashish Gupta continues as the Consulting CEO of FAITH. All the above positions have been unanimously elected by the FAITH Board.

The Travel Trade Association of Uttar Pradesh (TTAUP), a Lucknow based, local travel trade association organised its first Travel Trade Mart (TTM) 2017 in Lucknow. As many as 30 exhibitors showcased their products to the travel agents and tour operators of UP. These exhibitors encompassed all segments of tourism and hospitality like cruises, tourism boards, destination management companies, hotels, airlines etc. The show was attended by over 200 travel agents and tour operators from various cities in Uttar Pradesh like Lucknow, Kanpur, Bijnor, Allahabad, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Agra, Mau, Muradabad etc. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Minister of Women Welfare, Family Welfare, Maternity and Child Welfare and Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh, inaugurated the mart. Vivek Pandey, President, TTAUP, says, “This is the first time we have hosted such a show. We felt that many times it was not possible for the trade in UP to attend shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and other metro cities and unfortunately not many shows come to UP. The purpose is to offer a platform to the agents of the state to gather product knowledge, information and be connected to the various suppliers directly rather than route it through bigger cities. This would allow us to contain business of UP within UP and grow the tourism industry in the state. This year was an experiment and it turned out extremely well. Next year we will increase the scale and scope of this show manifolds.”

Post its successful convention in Ras Al Khaimah, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is gearing up for their national election on November 27, 2017. Making this annoucement, Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, said, “We are currently giving finishing touches to tasks and projects. We had previously undertaken to give the new committee a strong base in their transitory period to take our hard work even further during their tenure.” The elections will be conducted for 11 Executive Committee members who will further elect the new working committee.

The Executive Board of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has extended the contract of Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mario Hardy for a period of three years commencing January 1, 2018. Dr Hardy said, “I am delighted to have an opportunity to work with our outstanding management team in building upon the PATA successes of the past three years. We still face many challenges as a membership organisation but our determination to add value to the many benefits of PATA membership is being recognised in the public and private sectors. We shall continue with our primary mission of promoting sustainable and responsibly tourism development throughout the world as we encourage travel to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.” Mario Hardy joined PATA in 2012 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on November 1, 2014. He is a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PATA Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a focus on the protection of the environment, the conservation of culture and heritage, and support for education. He worked for 26 years in specialised aviation businesses with a focus upon data analytics and technology, occupying leadership roles in Montreal, Vancouver, London, Beijing and Singapore. In 2016, he received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Capilano University for his philanthropic work in Cambodia where he helped develop a school for underprivileged children and for his support in the development of a Community Based Tourism (CBT) project in Vietnam. In January 2017 Mario Hardy graduated from the Singularity University, Executive Program on the subject of Exponential Technologies. PATA Chairperson Sarah Mathews said, “I am delighted that Mario has agreed to continue as our Chief …