Category Archives: Associations

Skål Asian Area has confirmed the program for its 2017 Annual Congress and General Assembly which will take place in Bahrain from May 12 to 15, 2017 at Gulf Hotel in Manama. The Chief Executive of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority, Sheikh Khalid Bin Humood Al Khalifa, has been invited to make the opening address. Keynote addresses are also expected from local tourism industry executives representing such organisations as the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Bahrain Airport Company, Sabre and SITA. Arun Raghavan, Asian Area Secretary, Skål International, stressed the value of the delegate packages. He said, “We have worked hard on the Congress package pricing to attract high numbers of delegates from our member clubs ensure maximum value and return. The packages are competitively priced and represent remarkable value. The 2017 Congress in Bahrain presents a fantastic opportunity to meet and network with fellow industry professionals.” Early bird discounts on the total registration package are available for a limited period. Delegates have the option of staying at the Gulf Hotel, K-Hotel and Ramada Bahrain hotels in Manama city. Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has pledged to provide a 30 per cent discount on air fares for all delegates. Robert Sohn, Skål Asian Area President, said, “The Skål Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain has done an amazing job in developing at this early stage the programme for our 2017 Congress and General Assembly. I pay tribute to Skål Bahrain President Mohamed Buzizi and his committee for their fantastic achievement. I am looking forward to welcoming to Bahrain David Fisher – the newly-elected President of Skål International – and Skål members from clubs across the Asia Pacific region.”

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), Virginia USA, has inducted Rajeev Jalnapurkar, Chief Executive Officer, Ramoji Film City, into its Asia Pacific Government Relations Subcommittee. IAAPA represents facility, supplier, and individual members from 99 countries and Jalnapurkar would be serving the committee for the year 2017. Jalnapurkar brings with him a rich experience of 20 years in the field of theme parks and amusement industry and is also the only Indian to be selected for this prestigious position. He is the Director of IAAPI and Education Subcommittee of Education at Asia. “India offers a tremendous opportunity to increase the number of amusement destinations. Beyond the metro cities amusement parks are accessible to a much larger community. With this objective we aim to work with the national/ state governments to create much better entertainment avenues for the people. I am honored to be a part of IAAPA and hope that I will be able to contribute to its mission,” said Jalnapurkar. In 2017, the Asia Pacific Government Relations Subcommittee will world towards creating an advocacy effort that supports key global, regional and local initiatives. It will also formulate a three-year tactical plan to increase understanding and awareness of the amusement parks and attractions industry in Asia Pacific region.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) of non-IATA travel agents has announced its second Domestic Convention to be held at Leonia Resorts, Hyderabad from March 3 to 5, 2017. Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA, said, “With a tourism focused government, we as a leading trade association decided to do our bit in promoting our country by announcing a Domestic Convention this year specially in the newly crafted and youngest state of Telangana. We expect over 250 of our members from across the country to attend the same owing to capacity constraints. The convention will provide a perfect setting for enhancing destination and product knowledge about the state and the resort and will also present excellent networking opportunity among the members and the suppliers and exhibitors who participate at the convention during the planned B2B sessions.” The association plans to expand its footprints with an East India Chapter in the near future.

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) has elected Captain Swadesh Kumar, Managing Director, Shikhar Travels India, as President for 2016-18. The office bearers were elected unopposed. Ajeet Bajaj, Managing Director, Snow Leopard Adventures is the new Senior Vice President; Tejbir Singh Anand, Managing Director, Holiday Moods Adventures has been elected as Vice President; Rajesh Ojha, Co-founder, Banjara Camps and Retreats is the new Secretary while the position of Honorary Secretary will be held by Vaibhav Kala, Founder, Aquaterra Adventures. “The association will shift its trajectory from Himalayan centric to a pan-India focus for adventure tourism. Since around 22 million Indian travellers go abroad to experience adventure holidays, we plan to involve international members into the association and also focus on outbound segment of travel for adventure tourism,” says Kumar. The elected Executive Committee members are Mohan Tickoo, Managing Director, Kash Venture Travels; Sanjay Basu, Managing Director, Far Horizon Tours; Vishwas Makhija, Managing Director, India Insight Tours; Shashank Gupta, Director, Rucksack Tours; Vinayak Koul, Director, Snow Lion Expeditions and Akshay Kumar, CEO, Mercury Himalayan Exploration, who is also the Immediate Past President.

Tourism Minister (I/C) Dr. Mahesh Sharma has given directives to allow purchase of monument tickets in Agra in bulk with payments through Demand Draft with immediate effect. The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) had urged the Ministry of Tourism and ASI to suggest alternatives regarding purchase of ASI Monument tickets after December 15, 2016. As for all the other monuments, tickets are available for purchase online, except for some monuments in Agra, especially Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and Itimad-ul-Daula’s Tomb. Also, there will not be any passport details required for bulk purchase, revealed Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO. He added that installation of Debit/Credit Card swipe machines at the monuments are also being explored.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is conducting the Turkey Mega Educon Programme with Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) from March 12 to 15, 2017, in Istanbul. The pre tour programme will be held from March 9-12 in Turkey. The main Istanbul programme would include the destination training and meetings with local suppliers. March 15 to 18, will be the post tour programme in Turkey. The pre and post tour destinations proposed are a selection from 4 cities – Antalya, Cappadocia, Izmir-Kusadas, Pamukkale, and Bodrum-Marmaris-Fethiye. TITC will also be arranging with the Turkish Embassy and its consulate in India to assist the OTOAI members for their visas ex New Delhi and Mumbai. The deadline for application for OTOAI members is December 19, 2016.

World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) has appointed Ashwani Lohani, Chairman & Managing Director, Air India, as its Chairman for the year 2017. Lohani, who served as the Vice Chairman of WTTCII for the year 2016, takes over from Kapil Chopra, President, The Oberoi Group, who completed his term at the recently held AGM in Delhi. Sunder G. Advani, Chairman & Managing Director, Advani Hotels & Resorts (India) Limited, has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of WTTCII for the year 2017. This was announced at the Annual General Meeting of the World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) held on 12 December 2016 at New Delhi. Lohani said, “Over the years, WTTCII has been championing convergence between Government of India and States to facilitate tourism in India and we will continue to do so. With the GST in place by next year, the States will have the major onus of implementing smart policies for facilitating tourism on the ground. We will continue to work with the States, with the strength of our Members, to improve access, address infrastructural gaps and policy bottlenecks for tourism to flourish, and most importantly create jobs, employment and provide a vigorous boost to tourism’s contribution to the State’s GDP. The sub sectors of Aviation, Hospitality, Transportation, Railway compliments each other. In a country like India, all the subs sectors of tourism need to be integrated and treated uniformly by the Government in its various policy initiatives to give it a competitive edge vis-à-vis other countries.” Advani said, “We welcome the ground breaking move by Government of India introducing E-visa policy for 158 countries at 16 Airports and 5 Cruise Ports. These …

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has signed an academia-industry partnership MoU with the School of Tourism and Hospitality at DY Patil University in Nerul in Mumbai’s Navi Mumbai region. It was signed on December 2, 2016 between Vandana Mishra Chaturvedi, Director, School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies, DY Patil University and Jay Bhatia on behalf of TAAI at the second International Conference on Tourism and Hospitality held for the students at the university campus. Bhatia shall also be on the advisory board of DY Patil University. Sampat Damani, Chairman Western Region, TAAI, said, “We are continuing with our agenda to educate and mentor Generation Next with relevant training and making the curriculum more to the industry specific. It is a historic day for the industry when two giants the DYPU and TAAI have signed an MoU to ensure students and the future of the tomorrow are so keen to be a part of the tourism and hospitality industry.”

The next edition of PATA New Tourism Frontiers Forum (NTFF) will be held in Palau from November 15-17, 2017. The event, generously hosted by the Palau Visitors Authority, consists of a one-day conference, networking events and a day of on-ground activities embracing a Technical Tour and Tourism Marketing Treasure Hunt. PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy stated, “On behalf of PATA, I would like to thank the Palau Visitors Authority for providing us the opportunity to showcase one of the most beautiful and pristine island paradises in the world.  The event will enable us to present the natural beauty, culture and heritage of this magnificent destination whilst also providing insights into how best to market lesser-known destinations and manage the increase in international visitor arrivals.” Nanae Singeo, Managing Director of Palau Visitors Authority, said, “We are extremely honoured that this important event is taking place next year in Palau. Palau is a small island nation of 20,000 people but known and recognised globally as a conservation leader. As the UNWTO has declared 2017 as the Year of Sustainability we could not ask for a better time to stage this event in Palau.” Palau is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. Comprising 586 islands, from the big island of Babeldaob to the smallest rock, approximately seventy-five percent of Palau is covered in native forest and mangrove. The country contains diverse terrain, flora and fauna, and a rich variety of wildlife.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) call on the UK government to lift the current ban on UK-based airlines flying to Sharm el Sheikh. In a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May, David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, and Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO, stressed the importance of resuming operations to the Egyptian coastal resort as the current travel advisory is having devastating effects on the country’s economy and social stability. The ban has been in place since a Metrojet airline flying from Sharm el Sheikh to St Petersburg crashed in the Sinai Desert in October 2015. They said, “Travel & Tourism is vital to Egypt’s economy and social peace, contributing 11% of the country’s GDP and 2.6 million in jobs in 2015. The reduction of visitors has created huge employment losses. The country’s biggest concern is how the lack of employment opportunities, especially for young men and women, has instilled a desperate disposition and thus vulnerability to radicalisation or to fleeing on a refugee boat.” Egyptian authorities have taken significant measures to step up the level of security not only in the airport but in the surrounding area as well. These improvements now meet the safety standards as indicated by the UK Department for Transport. All other countries, including Germany and Russia, have allowed their airlines to start flying to Sharm el Sheikh again. They concluded, “It is devastating to see the impact the current UK travel advisory has on Egypt and on the young workforce in particular. We call on the UK government to review the advisory and allow commercial aircraft to fly to Sharm el Sheikh and thereby help restore the …