Category Archives: Associations

Hotel Association of India (HAI) has launched its West Bengal Chapter, and has submitted a memorandum of industry demands to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee and Finance Minister Dr. Amit Mitra, seeking industry status for the hospitality sector. The association has suggested that this will help in reducing costs and encourage re-investment while bringing greater transparency in the sector functioning. A favourable policy decision of according industry status and allowing benefits available to manufacturing will strengthen the Indian hospitality industry, preserve and unlock its immense potential to make a significant contribution to the State’s GDP and jobs, supporting the post-pandemic economic revival of the region. MP Bezbaruah, Secretary General, Hotel Association of India, said, “The Association believes that granting industry status to the sector will enable hotels across the state to avail benefits towards electricity and water tariff at an industrial rate, lower property tax, rationalisation of taxes & license fees, simplified approval process for hotel projects & hotel operations and other benefits accorded to industries – thus helping in ushering transparency, reduce costs, and encourage reinvestment. Such small steps are crucial for revival of the sector after the disastrous impact of the Pandemic and essential considering the extent of employment and income the sector generates.”

Election of office bearers for the Northern India chapter of TAFI will be held tomorrow at The Park hotel in New Delhi. Contenders for the post of Chairman are Khushvinder Sarna of The Federal Travels & Tours and Vijay Kumar Gupta of Golden Phoenix Travel. Arush Mittal of Blue Skies Travels and Tours stands unopposed for post of Treasurer.

Learn about the new labour laws, HR policies, and the new draft of the appointment letter at IATO’s webinar, in association with TravTalk, on Wednesday, January 13, 11:30 am onwards.

IATO, in association with TravTalk University, is hosting a webinar titled ‘Website Secrets Revealed’ today at 11:30 am. During the session, Digital Marketing Specialist Gaurav Gurbaxani will educate attendees on the most common mistakes to avoid in developing a website. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91-9650196532.

Himanshu Talwar, Assistant Secretary General, FHRAI, has been given the additional responsibility as the Additional Director at FHRAI Institute of Hospitality Management (FIHM), Greater Noida. Management of FHRAI has bestowed the new responsibility on Talwar, where he will be working under the guidance of the Secretary General, FHRAI.

TAAI has recently concluded its AGM virtually, which saw its national team, heads and ECs state and region chapters, as well as members in presence, revealed Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI. “We completed first year of our 2019-21 tenure. Our team was appreciated for its hard work. Now, we are working on our way forward. We had also invited Aashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, FAITH and we had a detailed dialogue with the office bearers and the Management Committee, and regional chapter teams, who gave their inputs on how they want TAAI to be a futuristic organisation,” she said.

IATO, in association with TravTalk , will host a webinar titled ‘Website Secrets Revealed’ on January 8, 11:30 am onwards. During the session, Digital Marketing Specialist Gaurav Gurbaxani will educate attendees on the most common mistakes to avoid in developing a website. To register, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91-9650196532.

India Tourism Mart (ITM) 2021 will be held from 18th – 20th February. The event will be mostly virtual, and some part of it will be hybrid. Subhash Goyal, Secretary-General, FAITH, revealed, “This year’s ITM will be slightly hybrid, but 90% virtual. We are expecting around 500 international buyers and around 100-200 domestic buyers.”

Baywatch Travels has launched curated sailing experience brand Baywatch Sailzz. Manish Kriplani, MD, Baywatch Travels, announced the new venture, saying, “Baywatch Sailzz is our answer to fresh outdoor experiences, where we offer curated sailing experiences for birthday, dinner, sunrise, sunset cruise and other celebrations. We have our international medallist skipper Chinna Reddy who will assist with the entire experience around Chennai Harbour and the Bay of Bengal.”

Sunil Kumar, President, UFTAA, has said that the association has initiated a concept of Zero Risk with IATA that can protect the agents and airlines from any future risk to either parties. “The current scenario has reflected our unpreparedness to protect the monies of the stakeholders and the customers, owing to the challenges the agencies had to go through. In an evolving scenario, it is time that such a Zero Risk to either of the stakeholders is envisioned through IATA’s governing resolution and we be better prepared to handle such crisis, if it would ever come up in future,” he says. Towards this, all Global Federations of Associations which are part of IATA’s PAPGJC have come together and a working group is getting created with terms of reference of the committee meeting the expectations of all. “This working group will involve representatives of airlines, agency associations, and IATA. This is anticipated to be finalised by January and thereupon the working group can deliberate to plan a great legacy for the future which does not pose any risk or threat to our customers or agencies. We eagerly look forward to this working group to be able to come up with a favourable solution for the industry and its stake holders,” Kumar adds.