Tag Archives: President

Suman Pandey, President, Explore Himalaya Travel and Adventure (Nepal), has been appointed as Secretary/Treasurer under PATA’s newly-announced Executive Board.

Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, has said that they have been in discussion with Ministry of Civil Aviation for many of their issues, one of which is the acceptance of credit cards by airlines. “It has been cleared by the PAPJC and IATA, but we are still knocking every airline’s door. There should be a directive from the government for the same. There should be neutral capping of fares. Also, we are looking at remuneration in a big way. As travel consultants, we should have a right to charge our fee. Else, our services can be treated as MRP product so that we are protected. We should be allowed to charge 10% fee on it like the hotel industry is charging service fee,” she said.

In an exclusive interaction with TravTalk, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said that during their meeting with the Tourism Minister, he suggested that MOT bring out a comprehensive study on domestic tourism so that trade members are aware about hotels, transporters, communication and infrastructure in a particular state, to help avoid chaos and confusion.

As an expert on the Italian market, Massimo Tocchetti, President, AIGO, speaking at the 5th TravTalk Digital Conclave, said, “As the fourth-largest European market for India, Italians are preferring back-to-nature activities and luxury products. With the right communication, the right marketing and the right presence in the market, you can win the battle. This is the time for India to reinvent not just as a destination but also reinvent its relationships.”

Efforts put in by TAAI have finally borne fruit as the government has now permitted travel agents to book Vande Bharat flights. “We appreciate Air India, MoCA and NITI Aayog for supporting our initiatives, and look forward to more compliances to support the struggling industry,” says Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI. As of now, flights to USA, Germany (FRA) and France (CDG) have been announced in the coming phase.

Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Vice Chairperson, FAITH, met Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, on July 2 and discussed the concerns and challenges faced by the members. Some of the major issues discussed in the meeting were airline refunds; challenges faced to retain employees, their salaries and avoid unemployment in the sector; moratoriums and reliefs to trade due to COVID-19 lockdown and loss of business; allowing accredited travel agents to book Vande Bharat flights for Air India and also informing foreign carriers undertaking such flights to permit the same; revival challenges and long-term facilitation for the trade with airlines; protection of the agents from airline defaults and suspension of services; direction from government to airlines on remuneration for promoting the airlines; direction seeking travel agent corporate credit cards to be used for airline ticketing; reduction of credit card merchant fee by banks to below 0.75% so as to promote Digital India for aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality sectors as a whole. Seeking support from the government, Mayal requested Kant to ensure the same and assist in guiding the trade, enable creation of demand for growth, and opportunities for all travel and tourism-related activities.

While certain states like Rajasthan have been allowed to open their hotels and restaurants, those in Mumbai and certain parts of Maharashtra have still not been permitted to open for guests. Commenting on this is Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) and Vice President of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of India (FHRAI), said, “Hotels and restaurants have been ready to serve customers for quite some time and are fully prepared. But there needs to be proper coordination between the Centre and the state governments. As of today, in Mumbai and certain parts of Maharashtra still, hotels and restaurants are not yet allowed to re-open which is strange as it is further pushing this failing industry into oblivion. Putting deadlines of shutting after 9pm and not allowing liquor to be sold are some of the other impediments which will not allow many restaurants to open even after lockdown on them is lifted.” He added that all HRAWI and FHRAI members are fully equipped in ensuring the safety of customers as well as staff and have been updated about the best practices in addition to the MHA guidelines for ensuring guest safety.

Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has written again to the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Finance, regarding concerns of the industry and urging for a stimulus package and schemes of the Government, which was not included in the package announced by the Ministry of Finance. Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, also revealed that they have asked MoCA to make an aviation task force which includes the travel agent community, so that they can be put their issues and ideas at the forefront.

Rubbishing rumours that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till November 2020, Baby Mathew Somatheeram, President, Kerala Travel Mart (KTM), has said that the situation in Kerala is expected to become normal by the end of the second phase of the lockdown. “The state is now making all preparations to receive tourists once the country becomes COVID-free. Kerala Tourism is drawing up ambitious plans to attract domestic tourists in a big way.” KTM denies reports that all tourism activity in Kerala has been banned till October – November this year in view of COVID-19 outbreak, asserting that the State Government has not come out with any such instruction. “Certain quarters are spreading this false propaganda by misinterpreting the positive suggestion made by State Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac that efforts to revive tourism in the state should start now itself. It is significant that the Finance Minister has also noted that the experience of the foreign tourists, who have recovered from COVID-19 by receiving effective treatment in Kerala itself will boost the state’s tourism prospects in the coming days,” he added.

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.