Category Archives: Associations

Nasir Shah Chairman – IATO Jammu & Kashmir Chapter, has shared that they J&K Tourism has plans to conduct a roadshow in Thailand in March-April if international flights start by that time. “We have seen from our partners in other countries that they are ready and as soon as flights start, they will start coming back to Kashmir. We have a roadshow in Thailand planned in March-April, but it now depends on restarting of international flights,” he said.

The UNWTO tourism dashboard highlights that Indians spent US$ 12.6 billion last year on outbound trips. While this is -45% from the previous year (2019) where Indians spent US$ 22.9 billion. In 2019, the expenditure per departure from India was US$ 851, this number is expected to be different in 2020. In order to better understand outbound tourism, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) launched a dashboard on country profiles with data on outbound tourism.

The 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly, which met in Madrid (30 Novemer-3 December) unanimously approved Dr.  Mlambo-Ngcuka’s nomination for the position of Chairperson, World Committee on Tourism Ethics. She will serve as Chair for four years, starting on 3 December 2021, taking over from Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and President Emeritus of the Jacques Delors Institute.

OTOAI held its General Meeting today in New Delhi, where they discussed about the work the association is doing with airlines and tourism board with the association members. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI, revealed that the association is focusing on building relationship with stakeholders and are extending their support in providing all the necessary information required. “This is the time of cooperation and building relationship so everybody can strengthen their business, said Munshi.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, during their 36th convention in Gandhinagar announced that their next convention will be held in September 2022 at Bengaluru. They have even finalised their 2023 convention in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. He also revealed that they have got offers from many other states, one of which is J&K, where they might have a small event very soon.

The convention will be held till December 19, 2021, with the theme “BRAND INDIA- The Road to Recovery.” The delegates will deliberate on strategic issues that have impeded tourism in the past 18 months and have discussion with eminent experts on tourism and the nascent elements of the marketing mix that will position the participating states on the global tourism canvas in the New Normal.

FHRAI has submitted a comprehensive list of recommendations on the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23 to the Finance Ministry outlining some of the much-needed expectations of the Hospitality industry. “We are requesting that hotels & tourism related sectors be included in infrastructure projects listed in the NIP set up under the DFI by the Ministry of Finance for promoting infrastructure funding”, said Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI.

A TAFI delegation led by President Ajay Prakash called on Jyotiraditya Scindia to discuss the current situation and to seek assistance for the revival of the travel and tourism industry. He told the delegation that he is fully seized of the difficulty faced by agents and travellers alike due to the suspension of scheduled flights and stated the govt. will resume normal flights as soon as it is prudent.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations calls out against the introduction of blanket restrictions on travel, as witnessed in recent days. This call echoes the concerns raised by UNWTO Members during the 24th UNWTO General. Countries from all global regions expressed their solidarity with Southern African states, calling for the immediate lifting of travel bans imposed on specific countries and for freedom of international travel to be upheld.

Rajiv Mehra, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), has said that the MOT has spoken about taking stalls at Fitur and ITB. “We have asked our members about the same and around 30 IATO members have expressed willingness to participate in these travel shows. Fitur is scheduled in January, while ITB is scheduled in early March, 2022.