Tag Archives: OTOAI

Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, says “With this move, the tax for us is going to increase from 4.5 per cent to almost 9 per cent. The move will directly affect the offline tour operators within India and it will in turn be beneficial for those who take booking outside the country, as they won’t come under any such laws. Over 20 million people from India are travelling outside the country and the outbound travel industry is creating so many jobs. Taxing this sector would only affect the tour operator businesses in India and would allow anybody to operate the same business for Indians outside India. It’s an unjust tax and would kill the tourism industry in India.”

The Outbound Tour Operators’ Association of India (OTOAI) held its member’s meet in Ahmedabad for the first time on December 21, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the city. Attended by 90 invited guests, sponsors, and office bearers of OTOAI and the agenda for the meet was to introduce OTOAI to the tourism industry in the city,  use it as a networking event with Members of OTOAI and non members, with intention to increase the membership base in the state, informed Mahendra Vakharia, Chairman – Western Chapter, OTOAI. Apart from the networking, they had also included interesting mix of destination, product presentation and presentation by a professional GST expert, on the implications of GST in the industry. Guldeep Sahni, President, OTOAI and Riaz Munshi, Vice President, OTOAI, were also present at the meet.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is conducting the Turkey Mega Educon Programme with Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) from March 12 to 15, 2017, in Istanbul. The pre tour programme will be held from March 9-12 in Turkey. The main Istanbul programme would include the destination training and meetings with local suppliers. March 15 to 18, will be the post tour programme in Turkey. The pre and post tour destinations proposed are a selection from 4 cities – Antalya, Cappadocia, Izmir-Kusadas, Pamukkale, and Bodrum-Marmaris-Fethiye. TITC will also be arranging with the Turkish Embassy and its consulate in India to assist the OTOAI members for their visas ex New Delhi and Mumbai. The deadline for application for OTOAI members is December 19, 2016.

The travel market has come to a standstill after the scrapping of the 500 and 1000 currency bills, says Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI. “Most of our dealings usually happen in cash as not many people use credit cards. However, ever since the announcement, we are not accepting cash from anyone. People can buy the ticket from airport, but not from the travel agent. When a travel agent starts the booking for a tour, there is some advance needed. We can’t take that from the client as of now, and I think this would continue till things become normal, with the new currency flowing in the market,” he added.

Outbound Tour Operators Association of India is going to have its members’ meet in multiple cities across the country. Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, said, “We are planning our members’ meet in Ahmedabad, Kolkata and are also planning to have a big event in South India.” Sahni also said that the Southern and Eastern chapters  will be more active now. He added, “We are also looking at having more action in the Western chapter too.”

Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) is mulling to have its next convention in Turkey. Riaz Munshi, Vice President, OTOAI, said, “We are going to have our Educational Tour in Turkey next year in March and also might have the Convection there. It’s not fixed yet but we are still in talks with them and you will shortly hear from us.”

The DDP Trailblazer has been awarded to Guldeep Singh Sahni. The managing director of Weldon Tours & Travels began his journey in the travel world with his own travel firm that was launched 24 years ago. His passion for outbound travel saw him create the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India that initially started with a handful of like-minded individuals which now has over 500 members and counting. Furthermore, he has achieved industry recognition and is a frequent speaker at various international industry forums owing to his experience and insights.

The Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) has crossed the 400 members mark till now and is aiming at 30 per cent growth in membership. The association that 407 registered members called on them to stand united on the issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST). “We would like to stand together for GST. I would request all our members to come together and make suggestions regarding that. We don’t have much time in hand for this and GST is a big deal,” said Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, said during the 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of OTOAI. The main agenda of the AGM was to present the accounts for this year.  The association also discussed that it is going to work closely with its partner DMCs and NTOs. Sahni said, “We will try to benefit our partner NTOs and enhance their product development for our customers.”

The Outbound Tour Operators of India has postponed the Turkey educational tour for its members, which was scheduled in the month of September. Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, confirmed the news saying, “Owing to the present situation in Turkey, we have postponed the tour. We will re-assess the situation and will take the call in some time to see when we can organise it again. There is an emergency in Turkey and we do not want to risk taking our members in unsafe conditions.”

The Outbound Tour Operators of India (OTOAI) conducted a presentation to educate its members on GST and its effects on their businesses. The event had in attendance Aseem Arora, Senior Manager, Tax & Regulatory Services, Ernst & Young, informing the members about GST. Speaking at the event, Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, said, “We wanted to introduce the GST system to members who are unaware. We knew it would be a very ugly situation for service providers, both inbound and outbound, as well as for tourism industry. It is going to impact us in a big way. Right now we are suffering from 4.5 per cent tax. And with 18 per cent of GST, which the government is thinking of implementing, the industry is going in ruins. We want to go to the government with our issues, so that they consider it before implementing it.”