Category Archives: Associations

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has revealed that the CM of Gujarat, Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel has confirmed to attend the 36th IATO Convention. “Sripad Yesso Naik, MoS, Tourism has also confirmed his presence for the valedictory session, scheduled on 18th December. We will also have Arvind Singh, Secretary, Tourism, for our session on revival of business along with Dr. V Venu, Additional Chief Secretary, Kerala Tourism.”

As the tourism industry bounces back with all safety protocols, the Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA), South Chapter recently initiated a knowledge session for its members. Many crucial changes in travel agents booking systems which will initiate digitalisation were announced. The session was held at The Paul Hotel Bangalore on 26 November and was all about discussions of TIDS and The Paul John Hotels & Resorts familiarization tour at Domlur, Bengaluru. The Travel Industry Designatory Service (TIDS) is an identity management program designed by IATA, Canada for all non-IATA travel companies made available free of cost globally. On procuring ETAA recommendation letter, the TIDS procedure will be complete. Travel agents and tour operators availing the service will get updated on the IATA agency list. This additional agency listing in turn with benefit airlines and hotel industry globally.

As per the WTTC report, 68 million travellers prefer to book a “Greener Choice” marked flight that is a lower-carbon flight option. In the long run ‘the country side’ destinations, will be the popular choice. The pause in travel has intensified people’s zeal to travel sustainably, with over eight out of 10 (83%) global travellers desiring sustainable travel in the future.

FHRAI has submitted a representation to the FM, Nirmala Sitharaman. In spite of the fact that the scheme was announced for both the health and tourist sectors, the hotel industry has been waiting for the government to inform it for almost five months. The FHRAI has expressed its displeasure with the government’s lack of concern for the hospitality industry.

Poona Hoteliers Association, a body representing 60+ Star Hotels of Pune, 11 Hotel Management Institutes, and 10 Hospitality Vendor Members, elects Mr Sharan Shetty as President for 2021-22 at the Annual General Meeting held on 30th September, 2021 at Amanora The Fern Hotel. He continues his 3rd Year as President.

New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals the recovery of the Asia Pacific Travel & Tourism sector has soared ahead of many regions in the world with a year on year growth of more than 36%. Before the pandemic struck, Asia Pacific’s Travel & Tourism sector’s contribution to GDP represented more than US$ 3 trillion (9.9% of the region’s economy).  

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on governments to adopt simple, predictable and practical measures to safely and efficiently facilitate the ramping-up of international travel as borders re-open. Specifically, IATA urged governments to focus on three key areas, simplified health protocol, digital solutions to process health credentials, and COVID-19 measures proportionate to risk levels with a continuous review process.

Sanjay Razdan, Joint Secretary, IATO reveals that the tourism post pandemic has completely changed. He said “Tourists travelling to India want to visit nature based tourist places, foreign tourists are keen to explore natural parks. The bookings that the travel agents are getting are different from what they used to get. International tourist are giving thrust on less popular and less crowded places at present”.

Global Destinations (representation, marketing, consultancy), one of India’s leading and respected names in the travel representation arena, is now a proud member of Global Travel Representation Alliance (GTRA). Global Travel Representation Alliance (GTRA) officially launched in March 2019 is an association that was formed between a collective of experienced, like-minded travel representation companies, offering high standards, similar services and covering different international markets. Since its inception, Global Travel Representation Alliance (GTRA) believes in working together to set the highest standards in travel representation to create strong brand awareness and more importantly, increase financial return for its partners’. GTRA’s global reach include members from UK & Ireland, USA, Europe, Australia & New Zealand, Middle East, Russia and now adding on India to their member list. With an eye to expand horizons while accelerating towards the goal of sustainable and inclusive Global Tourism, this is a massive step forward by Global Destinations. Through this association Global Destinations seeks to provide and benefit from the co-creation framework of GTRA, where-in each partner brings their collective resources, expertise, and integrated travel development plans to the benefit of all the members of the alliance. Speaking about the alliance and its value that it brings to the business, Pranav Kapadia, founder and director, Global Destinations, said, “Alliances and collaborations in the post-vaccinated world is the need of the hour. We at Global Destinations, have always believed in working with refined partners and collaborating with associations and associates that share our business ethics and vision. We found the alliance with GTRA a perfect fit. We are looking forward to the alliance and to work as partners for overall growth and to extend the benefits to our befitting partners.” Select Representation director and GTRA …

The newly introduced composite fee structure in the excise policy of Delhi highlights that for hotels up to three and four-star hotels, it is INR 15 lakh per F&B outlet. While the new L-16 licence (5star and above) is composite license of INR 1 crore which means a hotel with two outlets and another one having six outlets are being charged the same fees under composite scheme.