Tag Archives: Enterprising Travel Agents Association

The Board of Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA) has decided to waive the annual membership fee for Financial Year 2020-2021. Members who have paid membership fee for three years, valid till March 2021, will get an extension till March 2022. This was announced at ETAA’s virtual AGM on December 18.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) will conduct an exclusive webinar on July 24 with the Regional Ministry of Tourism Office to demonstrate to its members how they can get a ‘Ministry of Tourism Recognized Service Provider’ stamp. Presentation will be done by Venkatesan Dhattareyan, Regional Director (West & Central India), Indiatourism Mumbai, Ministry of Tourism.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) recently organised a two-day weekend programme for its members in and around Mumbai held at RMP foundation- UTTAN. The rejuvenating weekend was attended by 40 travel agents. ETAA organised team-bonding activities with the support of Adventure Holidays, followed by a knowledge session to help agents improve their business skill by renowned business coach R Muthye. Apart from music and dance, members also participated in a yoga session.  

Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) organised a session on GST in Mumbai for its members. The event was attended by 75 plus travel agents. The session was conducted by CA Yash Parmar, from Gabhawala & Company. Commenting on the occasion Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA, said, “We had a lot of queries coming in regarding GST and we decided to keep a session on GST to answer doubts of our members. Our expert brought some clarity on how GST is an effective tool and an inevitable truth for all industries, he highlighted the GST implications on the travel trade. We also plan to do GST sessions in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Pune where we have member presence. We are worried with competing with OTA’s as they are not registered in India and how that will affect us as agents due to GST and will be doing more such sessions on GST until things are clear.”

Enterprising Travel Agent’s Association (ETAA) took their second Domestic Convention to Hyderabad which was held from Mar 3-5, 2017, at Leonia Holistic Destination. The event gathered over 200 attendees, informed Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA, and added that the edition saw a pan-India participation from different states of the country such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, New Delhi, West Bengal, to name a few. He elaborated, “We were very satisfied with the turnout and the response. While there were a few last minute cancellations, it did nothing to deter the spirit. Our first domestic convention was held back in 2011 with 180 members from Mumbai, Pune and a few from Gujarat so in comparison to that, we’ve managed to bring together a diverse crowd. Yes, business is the main aim but so is forging and strengthening bonds.” The three-day convention involved B2B meetings between buyers and sellers that was effective in connecting travel agents and tour operators from Tier II & III cities to travel suppliers, and also saw a host of team-building activities take place in the sprawling 150-acre property.

Reacting to this ongoing tug of war between airlines and travel agents, M.P. Joy, South India Chapter Chairman, Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) and Director, Voyargo Vacations in Bengaluru, says that in the process of distributing air tickets of various airlines, agents incur overheads of managing office, staff, etc. which are increasing every day. “In any business, the facilitator/agent must benefit so that the system works smoothly. I wonder why the airlines are reducing commissions to travel agents when they are the ones to benefit from the travel agents. Any effort in any business should be appreciated with adequate compensation to take care of the expenses as well as margins. It is unfortunate that airlines are not supporting us.” He adds, “Airlines should extend at least five per cent commission to authorised travel agents who support them.”

Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) organised its first travel agent meet in Hyderabad on February 10, 2017, at Hotel Royalton. The event received an overwhelming response from its members and others from the travel trade. The event was attended by Carl Dantas, Chairman Emeritus, ETAA; Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA; Abhijit Khadilkar, National General Secretary, ETAA; Dipti Thakoor, National Jt. Secretary; Dharmesh Advani, Treasurer, ETAA, and M P Joy, South India Chapter Chairman. More than 70 travel agents from various associations attended the event from Hyderabad and other surrounding cities. There was a brief knowledge session by TrawellTag Cover-More conducted by renowned trainer Aman Koushik. The ETAA National Board and Regional Chapters are all gearing up to welcome members to its upcoming ETAA Convention at Leonia Resorts, Hyderabad from March 3-5, 2017.

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) has expanded its reach and membership base with the formation of its East India chapter recently. The association organised its first event for its members in Eastern India on February 4, 2017 in Kolkata. Koushik Banerjee was announced as the interim Chairman for ETAA’s East India Chapter. The event received an overwhelming response from its members and others from the travel trade. Agents from as far as Siliguri were part of this event which was also well represented by other trade associations, SKAL being one of them. Also present were ETAA’s Chairman Emeritus, Karl Dantas; Jagat Mehta, President of ETAA; Chairman of Hospitality, Hotel & Tourism committee, Partha Chatterjee (Skal); and National Jt. Secretary, Dipti Thakoor. This was followed by a brief knowledge session by TrawellTag Cover-More which was conducted by renowned trainer, Aman Koushik and Rajesh Dutta, Director Strategy & Client Relationship. Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA, said, “The event was appreciated by all and it was a good kick-start to our new regional chapter for East India, making us a truly pan-India association with four regional chapters in North, South, West and East India.”

The Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) of non-IATA travel agents has announced its second Domestic Convention to be held at Leonia Resorts, Hyderabad from March 3 to 5, 2017. Jagat Mehta, President, ETAA, said, “With a tourism focused government, we as a leading trade association decided to do our bit in promoting our country by announcing a Domestic Convention this year specially in the newly crafted and youngest state of Telangana. We expect over 250 of our members from across the country to attend the same owing to capacity constraints. The convention will provide a perfect setting for enhancing destination and product knowledge about the state and the resort and will also present excellent networking opportunity among the members and the suppliers and exhibitors who participate at the convention during the planned B2B sessions.” The association plans to expand its footprints with an East India Chapter in the near future.