Category Archives: Associations

Tour operators from Kashmir Tourism Trade Bodies Joint Forum (KTTBJF) have demanded some measures that need to be taken by the Government for the revival of the tourism industry in J&K. They demanded that tour and travel operators have gained popularity and need to be recognised as a tourism unit and all the industrial benefits must be given to the tour operators as are given to the hoteliers. They also urged that the tourism incentive scheme should be extended for the next 15 years and travel agents and tour operators should be included, and all the pending cases should be cleared at the earliest. They also demanded a waiver on the GST and claimed that the Government should first let the tourism sector breathe first. They also pointed out that the adventure tour operators are going through many problems and for the last 3 years they have not been able to pay the bank EMIs of the loans they have taken for increasing the infrastructure for adventure tourism.

Hotel Association of India (HAI) has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate intervention to provide relief to the hospitality industry which is on the verge of collapse, in five key areas—one-time settlement of loans and extension of loan moratoriums till September 2021, waiver of all statutory liabilities at Centre, State and Municipal levels for the pandemic period, stimulus package subsidising of salaries of hotel employees, according ‘Infrastructure Status’ and to bring Tourism & Hospitality to the concurrent list of the Constitution. In its request HAI pointed out that over 40% of hotels have shut or are on the brink of closure and 70% of overall jobs are now in danger directly or indirectly.

 The World Committee on Tourism Ethics, an independent cell of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), has said that vaccines should not form part of vaccination holiday packages and must remain a global public good. The committee believes that the COVID-19 certificates for international travel must be free and available to all without any discrimination. UNWTO adopted a few recommendations on such certificates for global travel under the Chairmanship of Pascal Lamy. They have also recommended that these certificates must be limited in time and use.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has waived off the annual membership fee for the financial year 2021 – 22. The association has reduced the fees by 50% for the financial year 2020 – 2021. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI said, “This is not the time to make money or fill up reserves. We understand the plight of our fellow industry colleagues and this gesture is our way of showing our solidarity to them. The outbound from India has been severely affected and it will indeed take a while before things go back to normal. The second wave has hit all businesses, especially tourism (which had started to pick a little in December / January) severely and different entry laws / requirements by different countries has made outbound travel very challenging. I would also like to urge people in the travel fraternity to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest possible so that whenever tourism opens, our customers do not hesitate reaching out to us and it will also send out a positive message to the world.”

In a written appeal, IATO has urged the Union Finance Minister to ask the GST council to consider rationalisation or lowering of GST on various tourism related services at their upcoming meeting. In a statement, IATO has said that this would help boost the sector as and when the revival happens.  Rajiv Mehra, President IATO, said “The inbound tourism has been the worst hit and if we were to get these financial relief it will help us give us some strength to bounce back. Sincerely hope that our requests will be given serious consideration by the GST council. I would also request the Ministry of Home Affairs to start planning on opening an E-Tourist Visa in phases as Vaccination in many source markets like USA, UK and other European Markets are almost complete. This can be done in stages and on reciprocal basis, so that inbound tourism business can start which will not only revive economic activities but also will bring back jobs lost during the last 14 months.”

Keeping in mind the prevailing tough times where the tourism sector has been one of the worst hits, the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has waived off the annual membership fee for the financial year 2021 – 22. The Association had reduced the fees by 50% for the financial year 2020 – 2021. The move is a testament of the fact that the association recognises and empathises with the challenges being faced by the outbound tour operators in India today.   Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI said, “This is not the time to make money or fill up reserves. We understand the plight of our fellow industry colleagues and this gesture is our way of showing our solidarity to them. The outbound from India has been severely affected and it will indeed take a while before things go back to normal. The second wave has hit all businesses, especially tourism (which had started to pick a little in December / January) severely and different entry laws/requirements by different countries has made outbound travel very challenging. I would also like to urge people in the travel fraternity to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest possible so that whenever tourism opens, our customers do not hesitate to reach out to us and it will also send out a positive message to the world.”

NIMA, on the occasion of its 7th Foundation Day, has reconstituted its Executive Team, and has announced Jagdeep Bhagat from Vee Bee Tours as the National Coordinator for the second time. Gajesh Girdhar from Paryatan, Muzaffarnagar, has been announced as the Chairman Emeritus, while SanJeet from Buzz Travel Marketing is the Mentor for the association. Vikas Khanduri of Holiday Merchants is the Advisor for the team.

For the first time in India, an agency representative chaired the Airline Passenger Joint Council of IATA (APJC) which was held virtually on May 25 and attended by the airline representatives and agency representatives of TAAI and TAFI. In a historic move, TAAI President Jyoti Mayal was unanimously selected to the chair the meeting. TAAI was represented by Vice President – Jay Bhatia, Hon. Secretary General – Bettaiah Lokesh, Hon. Treasurer – Shreeram Patel and UFTAA President and Past President – TAAI, Sunil Kumar Rumalla. The agency representatives took up all the important points of concern and have made recommendations through APJC to PAPGJC / PSG which shall be taken up at PAconf also.

Urging the government for relief measures in a letter, TAAI has stated, ‘We do not seek grants as alms, but seek support in terms of repayable loans. This shall be repaid back to the Government post the 5-year period after the crisis ends. This shall only be an interim working capital for survival and revival along with ease of doing business. Contribution from this ministry and the trade especially in the last five years, deserves a Cabinet berth in your Government. TAAI’s letter said.

FHRAI has stated that the RBI’s latest policy measures are grossly inadequate to address the problems of the hospitality industry and that the sector has yet again been ignored. Tourism and hospitality business being seasonal and dynamic, the industry is looking to receive specific tweaks in Resolution Framework 2.0 and has even submitted a representation to the RBI Governor.