Category Archives: Associations

President & Vice President of IATO along with Presidents of ATOAI and ADTOI met Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog today to seek government’s support for the survival and revival of tour operators and other stakeholders of the industry. During the meeting financial support was sought along with long term loans and a hike in SEIS incentive from 7% to 10%. The NITI Aayog CEO gave a patient hearing and has assured full support. During the meeting, Pronab Sarkar, President, IATO emphasised that Inbound Tour Operators who bring in foreign tourists and earn valuable foreign exchange for the country are on the verge of collapsing due to Covid-19 pandemic and need urgent help to survive as there is zero billing and consequently zero cash flow.  Apart from Sarkar, Rajiv Mehra, Vice President was representing IATO. Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) and PP Khanna, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators Association of India (ADTOI) were also present. The delegation sought financial support to tour operators so that tour operators do not close down and continue their business with their experienced staff after the COVID – 19 is controlled and tourism is back to business, under MSME Special Non-collateral and interest-free long term loans (5-10 years) to be provided to the tour operators for the survival of the business and aggressive marketing once tourism is back to business.  In addition, IATO sought an increase in incentive offered in Service Export from India Scheme (SEIS) from 7% to 10 % which will allow them to offer competitive packages vis a vis neighbouring countries. Kant gave a very patient hearing and assured the delegation full support to the tourism …

The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) has announced the launch of a public campaign to highlight the looming collapse of restaurants in Maharashtra. Launched as #KhadyagruhaWachva (#SaveRestaurants), the campaign will act as the voice of the industry, especially the small and medium-sized eateries that serve the working class of Maharashtra.

In order to support its member states, UNWTO has unveiled a COVID-19 Tourism Recovery package. Sharing more information Suman Billa, Director, Technical Co-operation and Silk Road, UNWTO said, “It is structured around three pillars. One, economic recovery, two, marketing and promotion and three institutional strengthening and building resilience.” The product offering will be custom made for each member state.

Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA), Travel Agents’ Association of Bengal (TAAB) and Himalayan Hospitality & Tourism Development Network (HHTDN), have joined hands to come up with decisions and demands to try and pragmatically revive the tourism sector in the state. The associations have decided that travellers and agents who paid for a trip that later got cancelled because of the lockdown and pandemic will get a credit note for the full amount with one-year validity. “We have resolved to work together on common issues to expedite the industry’s revival. The idea is to go by a set of decisions which we have made and approach government departments and agencies so that relief in some form comes to the sector that we believe is the worst hit in the region,” said Sandipan Ghosh, General Secretary, EHTTOA. Telegraph

Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO), has appealed Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C), Tourism & Culture, to think of a long-term benefit for the tourism industry of Odisha. In a letter addressed to the Minister, JK Mohanty, Chairman, HRAO & IATO Eastern Region, has written, “On behalf of HRAO, we regret to inform that hotel industry of Odisha has not yet received any relief either from the Centre or from the State Government in spite of our continuous appeals explaining the miserable situation faced by the tourism industry. The hotel industry is bleeding profusely and reasons are very well known to your honour through our various correspondences and memorandums presented through our national chapters of HAI, FAITH, FHRAI, FICCI, CII, ICC, ASSOCHAM, PHD Chamber of Commerce, etc. In view of this, we appeal before you to think of a long term benefit that the tourism industry can contribute to the country in terms of employment, both Indian and foreign exchange earnings, image building of the country, and providing service to guests both Indian and foreigners. The Hotel industry as per Swami Vivekananda’s wording ‘Provide Service to mankind is service to God’. Both Union Govt. and the State Govt. must realize the benefit which the Govt. get than the relief which the industry is seeking for its survival.”

Jatinder Taneja, Vice-Chairman, PATA India Chapter, has revealed that they will be having the PATA Update & Outlook meet with the Ministry of Tourism on July 6, 2020. The idea behind the meeting is to apprise PATA members about the areas in focus for the MOT and the initiatives being taken by them.

Sunil C Gupta, EC Member and Chairman- Northern Region, IATO, has said that they have appealed to the Minister of Tourism, Prime Minister and ASI to open Taj Mahal, since over two lakh residents of Agra associated with the tourism sector have been living without any activity in Agra for the last 3 months. “When malls, shops, markets and places of religious worship can be opened, surely the Taj can be opened, as it would be a great precursor to start domestic tourism within the region. The opening of the Taj Mahal would send the right signals for international and domestic tourism. The Government do this with teh right SOPs and facilitating online ticketing for the same.”

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) met with major travel trade associations including, FAITH, IATO, ICPB, & ADTOI, where they gave suggestions on the way forward for the promotion of tourism, revealed Subhash Goyal, Secretary General, FAITH. The associations discussed plans for international promotions and marketing, wherein they suggested to target countries with fewer number of COVID cases and also focus on traditional markets like US and UK through various mediums.

Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, has said that they are having constant conversations with Pradeep Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), discussing the issues of the industry and TAAI members. She also revealed that there is a need to make the travel agent business healthier and regular interaction with airlines to start restructuring the processes. “The Secretary (MoCA) has said he would get a meeting done very soon with international airlines and TAAI. That’s what we are waiting for,” she revealed.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has been working on creating a product that will help protect agents. Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI, says, “Yes, the TAAI team has already worked on the options as to how an insurance cover/deposit/ financial security to protect agents/customers from airline defaults, suspension, bankruptcy, non-depositing of statutory taxes like TDS, etc can be charged on the ticket or submitted by the airlines/IATA or otherwise. An insurance charge/levy on the ticket, if worked on, shall be a win-win for the airlines and agents, whereby agents’ financial security will also not be required and their working capital shall also be enhanced,” he says, adding that this will create a better working environment and a level-playing field.