Category Archives: Associations

At an event in Mumbai, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, highlighted the need to have credible data as an industry. “We need to collate information like pre-pandemic business figures, employee numbers, etc so that we have some authenticated data right until the decline started. We then need to get a professional agency to conduct a comprehensive survey. This will put us in a strong position when we make our representation to the government and show them what this industry is worth.”

Sanjay Agrawal, President, Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that that the unrest in Afghanistan may lead to a huge loss for Indian medical tourism. He revealed that Afghan patients and their friends and family members contribute around Rs 1.5-2 billion to the Indian economy. It is believed that for citizens from Afghanistan, India is a cheap healthcare destination where hospitals offer quality treatment at reasonable rates.

SpiceJet on  Thursday said it will begin trial of IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass mobile app for digital health verification. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021, as a step towards building passenger confidence as international travel picks up. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is proud to collaborate with IATA to trial IATA’s Travel Pass initiative. Passenger safety and comfort has always been our top priority and the introduction of the Travel Pass will make the verification process absolutely simple and hassle-free, boost both passenger and government confidence and make international travel more efficient and secure.” “I am happy that IATA has confirmed SpiceHealth labs for the Travel Pass trial enabling it to securely share certified test and vaccination certificates with passengers that will be recognized by governments abroad.” “Adding SpiceJet to the growing list of airlines trialling IATA Travel Pass is another step towards demonstrating to governments how digital solutions can effectively manage both COVID-19 vaccine and test certificates for travel. IATA Travel Pass will simplify and enhance compliance with health requirements for SpiceJet’s passengers, facilitating a more seamless experience,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety,and Security. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile application that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccinations. The Travel Pass will manage and verify the traveller’s COVID-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements. In another significant development, SpiceHealth has been on-boarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet. SpiceHealth has …

Members of TAAI’s Madhya Pradesh & Chhatisgarh Chapter recently conducted a tree plantation drive at Indore Airport. Also present at the event were PC Sharma, Airport Director, IDR, and M Singh, Deputy Commandant, CISF, along with other TAAI chapter members.

At the TAFI event held in New Delhi recently, Ajay Prakash, President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), said the association aims at rebuilding and reviving TAFI by being more responsible and more responsive towards its members. With 9 more members joining the association in the last 3 months, the association focuses at providing value to its members. Prakash said, “To make TAFI strong again the contribution of each member is necessary, not only elected managing committee but also the members. When the members feel the sense of pride in belonging to TAFI, when the members feel they can reach out to anyone in the association whether the president, secretary or managing committee member, that is when the association starts to rebuild”.

UAE authorities recognised and approved vaccinations done in India. Anil Punjabi, Chairman (East), Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI) has revealed, “UAE’s National Emergency & Crisis Management Authority has informed that passengers who have taken both doses of either Covishield or Covaxin in India to fly back if they have residency permits. The only requirement is that they should have completed the vaccination at least 14 days prior to travel.” Adding that the move will help hundreds of people who were stranded in India since March.

TAFI holds a meeting to discuss their plan of action with newly elected members. The agenda of the meeting was to introduce the members to the new team elected for the North India chapter and to introduce the newly elected National committee office bearers and MC members. ‘The new team has come with a vision to reconnect with the members to work with the principals, the government, embassies and tourism boards. We want our members connect with TAFI to get results in the core areas and we want to rejuvenate TAFI with communication and action’ said Anil Kalsi, Joint Secretary and Managing committee member

Suman Billa, Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development, UNWTO, has said that India should open unhindered travel for those who are vaccinated. “This means that for domestic travel, if I have been vaccinated and I have a certificate to prove it, I should be allowed to travel wherever I can.” Billa also suggests that India needs an entirely new set of guidelines that can reassure inbound tourists of India’s safety.

FHRAI has submitted a representation to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting her intervention for notifying the Rs60,000 crore sanctioned under the Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID-affected sectors that was announced on June 28. The Association has stated that neither the operational guidelines nor any other details of the scheme have been announced by the Ministry so far.

TAAI and Kazak Tourism have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote mutual interest and tourist arrivals between Kazakhstan and India via cooperation and collaborative relationship and experience changes on reciprocal basis. The signatories were Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI and Kairat Sadvakassov, Acting Chairman of the Board, Kazakh Tourism. TAAI members will get an opportunity to showcase ‘Incredible India’ towards inbound and M!CE segments for Kazak Tour Operators and travellers.