Tag Archives: TAAI

At the recently-concluded Round Table on Tourism on the sidelines of the Russian Indian Summit 2018, Ivan Breganov, Regional Manager of IFS (Russian Visa Center) confirmed that the number of tourist visas issued from January to September 2018 has already surpassed the total number of visas issued in 2017, pegging the YoY growth around 27 per cent. The round table was organised by Russia Expo Center, Moscow along with Russian Information Center, Mumbai (RIC) with more than 120 trade professionals from India attending along with TAAI MC Member Rajan Sehgal and EEMA Executive Vice President Sanjiv Pasricha making the keynote address along with Timur Vekilov, Chief Representative in India of Russ Expo Center. The round table moderated by Paresh Navani, Director, Russ Information Center discussed the needs and special services required by Indians and ways to address the same. In this regard, Russ Information Center announced the pre-launch of Ural Airlines set to begin operations from March 24, 2019 connecting Mumbai to Yekaterinburg and Moscow along with some tourism products to take advantage of the new airline service between the two countries, further RIC presented its ‘Indian Friendly’ programme to the Indian travel trade, the Indian friendly programme trains Russian hotels on Indian culture, cooking Indian dishes and ensure that other specific needs are provided to Indians in Russia. Another point noted by the attendees was that tourists from Russia to India has also grown over the last years by around 29 per cent, showing good recovery of arrival compared to the past few years.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has announced its 65th annual convention in the Kunming city of Yunnan province of China from November 27-29. In association with the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Commission (YPTDC), the maiden TAAI Convention in China will take place at InterContinental Kunming. On the occasion, Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI said, “This is an initiative to promote stronger tourism prospects in Yunnan. TAAI has been working towards a stronger connect with China.” The theme of the convention will revolve around strengthening friendship and tourism relationship with China.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is set to organise its annual convention this year in Kunming, Yunnan, China by November end. The association held its convention in Srinagar in March this year. The step comes in the wake of TAAI’s focus to bond with China, whose outbound has been the largest in recent years. Further, India’s outbound to China is also extremely significant and continues to grow. The final dates of the convention will be announced soon. TAAI and Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Commission (YPTDC) are joining hands to deliver a great partnership that would benefit tourism between the two large and formidable nations of the world. On the invitation of Yunnan, TAAI team visited the beautiful city of Kunming and found it a great venue to organise this Convention, TAAI said.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) unveiled its new initiative on digital empowerment called TAAI Connect. This will support member agencies to encounter the fast evolving, challenging and demanding market scenario. TAAI Connect will enable agents to have their own website, combine their website with a booking platform integrated with their GDS and ticketing, connect the website with payment gateway linked with their own bank, a corporate booking tool and a mobile application to manage bookings through smartphones and many more services. TAAI has associated with TPConnects, a Dubai based technology company for TAAI Connect which will provide all technical support and integration. Speaking at the launch in Mumbai, Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI said, “TAAI Connect is a revolutionary initiative in the area of technology offering handholding and empowering travel agencies to go digital. A lot of online companies have lost money in creating the online platform rather than running it. Here the agents do not have to invest in technology and integration that TAAI is offering. This will also be available to non-IATA travel agents and non-TAAI agents while they would have to take up membership with TAAI. We will be working with all suppliers in the industry.”  

The Global Panorama Showcase (GPS) witnessed 650 pre-registrations on its first day in Lucknow. The inaugural lamp was lit in the presence of Sunil Satyawakta, Chairman, TAAI UP Chapter; Vivek Pandey, President, TTAUP; M Shoeb, President, TAFCA; Manish Marwah, Director-Sales, Indigo; SMA Sheeraz, Managing Director, Sheeraz Tours and Yogesh Aggarwal, Manager-Sales, Oman Air. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director, GPS, said, “The numbers speak for themselves; 650 is a great number to begin with in Lucknow. The industry is accepting what we are offering at GPS. GPS. The exhibition is more of an opportunity for future endeavours.”  

With an aim to augment the career prospects of students in the field of tourism, Amadeus India recently conducted a training session for students at the University of Kashmir. The training was undertaken in collaboration with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) to introduce and prepare tomorrow’s budding professionals for the job market. Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus India, said, “Kashmir is one of the most preferred tourist destinations with thousands of travellers visiting throughout the year. We are trying to impart job training to students which will prepare them well and open up a lot of avenues when they step into the market for jobs eventually.” Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI said, “This week-long programme of Amadeus to train about 90 students on reservation and ticketing process has been a huge success. The students are now inspired to get actively connected with the growing travel and tourism industry that requires specialised training to meet the ever-increasing demands of the industry. We are delighted to join hands with Amadeus India who have played a valuable role in organising this training for the students of J&K.” As part of the company’s CSR initiative, the training focused on imparting the right skills, aptitude, knowledge and approach by showcasing different models and case scenarios.

Travel Agents Association of India – Northern Region (TAAI-NR) recently held a meeting for its members at ITC Maurya, New Delhi. Gaurav Dogra, Secretary, TAAI-NR, said, “We discussed various queries of the members and updated them about TAAI Connect. TAAI Connect will help empower the members to have their own websites and mobile apps for better customer services.” Anil Khaitan, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry was also present to share the highlights of MoU signed between TAAI and PHD Chamber of Commerce, and how they would help to overcome the obstacles faced by TAAI members in their respective business.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has declared 2018 as the ‘Visit Kashmir’ year. Speaking at the 2018 TAAI Convention in Srinagar, Sunil Kumar, President, TAAI, made the announcement before delegates. He said that as part of this initiative, the association would be aggressively promoting J&K to its diverse range of clients. Its website and letter heads would also carry a logo of ‘Visit Kashmir’ year all round the year.

TAAI’s limited edition convention in Srinagar has gathered keen interest from the trade. “Within 24 hours of opening registration, we received over 100 forms. Registrations for the TAAI Convention opened on February 19 and more than 200 delegates have already confirmed their participation. The hotels are in huge demand,” confirms Sunil R. Kumar, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). Set to be held from March 27-30, 2018, the TAAI Convention is being organised in association with the Ministry of Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir with a view to promote a more visible J&K and its outstanding attributes that extensively support tourism and culture.

The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Chapter has signed an MoU with Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh to establish a cooperative relationship between the two that will help students of tourism. The MoU is with respect to offering a Bachelor in Vocational (B.VOC) Tourism & Hospitality Course, a three-year degree course. It will be conducted at Dr. RML Avadh University. Sunil B. Satyawakta, Chairman, TAAI – Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand Chapter, says, “This MOU sets the framework for the cooperative relationship between the parties to enhance quality of education in courses and designing the curriculum to make it industry relevant. This is the third MoU signed by the chapter with education institutes in the last two years. The others were with Lucknow University and Banaras Hindu University.”