Tag Archives: ATOAI

ATOAI wrote to Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, requesting all state and UT governments and Regional Directors Tourism to hold a video conference with all state and UT tourism departments to discuss key issues in the adventure segment. 

Vaibhav Kala, Officiating President, ATOAI, has revealed that ATOAI elections will be held on 21 September 2022. He said, “It has been one of the most eventful tenures in ATOAI history, not only due to the pandemic and business revival,  but ATOAI has had some major breakthroughs including formation of the National Board on Adventure Tourism, efforts to launch the first Himalayan Mountaineering and Adventure Tourism meet in 2023, assisting State governments with formation of rules and guidelines and many growth areas in the sphere of promotion of adventure tourism.” He added, “The new team will strive to continue the momentum gained over the last year and take all steps initiated, to their logical conclusion.”

Vinayak Koul, Honorary Secretary, ATOAI, has emphasized that adventure tourism is one of the niches of tourism in which 60-90 per cent money is retained in the region and goes to the local communities. To realize the vision of Responsible Tourism, he brought forth the significance of following SOPs and guidelines.

In a recent webinar, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, expressed her concern on the lack of trained medical staff in tourism industry. “There is no dearth of medical personnel in India, then why are we not able to address the medical issues. That is something we need to work on immediately. More targeted and focused training by the ministry is required of the tour guides associated with the recognized tour companies” said Brar

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) will conduct its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and election on January 20, 2021. The event, which will be organised virtually, will allow the association to discuss the proceedings and events of the past year, and also help it plan the agenda for 2021, informs Vinayak Koul, Hony. Secretary, ATOAI.

Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI, revealed that in their recommendation to the minister, they have said that the COVID-19 guidelines which have been formulated by ATOAI for the adventure tourism activities should be accepted by the MOT, so that it can be circulated to the entire country and the state governments.

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 …

A combined united delegation of four travel trade associations (IATO, ADTOI, ATOAI and OTOAI) led by IATO President Pronab Sarkar met the Tourism Minister, Prahlad Singh Patel in Delhi to discuss various grievances faced by tour operators amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The minister heard out the delegation at length and also addressed issues individually faced by the associations. The Minister has assured all possible support and said the ministry has already reached out to the Finance Minister for industry-specific relief. Associations representatives felt content after the meeting and expressed gratitude to the Minister for giving them a patient hearing. The Minister has called out for a united stand of the industry to fight the pandemic and overcome all the challenges. Apart from the President, Rajiv Mehra, Vice President represented IATO while, heads of other associations, Captain Swadesh Kumar, PP Khanna and Riaz Munshi represented ATOAI, ADTOI and OTOAI. From the ministry, Rakesh Sharma, Joint Secretary, MOT and Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism were present during the meeting.

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) has released a set of guidelines for post-COVID-19 handling of guests by tour operators. Sharing the information in a tweet, the association said that The ATOAI guidelines will serve as recommendations for the safe handling of guests in a post-COVID-19 world. The document features the list of steps various stakeholders should take while on a tour or at their property/hotel. The intended audience for these guidelines is tour operators and accommodation providers including hotels, resorts and homestays. This document is NOT intended to serve as the definitive mandate for these operations, nor is it intended to cover every aspect of accommodation and tour operator businesses. ATOAI has focussed on the most common guest touchpoints, collating publicly information from a variety of sources. One should also not expect that following these guidelines guarantees no infection. The full guidelines can be accessed at www.atoai.org/index.php/about-us/covid-19-guidelines.html   

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) concluded its first online members’ meet on March 31, which was attended by close to 100 members from across the country, including Kerala, Assam, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The meeting, moderated by Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI and Vinayak Koul, Hony. Secretary, ATOAI, helped members and the Association share constructive ideas to survive in present times. Members also got a chance to share their experiences. The keynote speaker for the meeting, Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH, briefed members on various topics related to the COVID-19 crisis and explained that the strategy going forward should broadly be divided in two phases – phase-I being survival and phase-II being revival. He also informed members about the various efforts of FAITH for the tourism industry.