Archana Sharma – New Delhi
In order to highlight the significance of tourism for the growth of the Indian economy, the 31st Annual Convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), aims to focus on job creation, leading to better economic growth, with the help of tourism in India. According to Subhash Goyal, president, IATO, “With major tourism potential of India and IATO being one of the apex organisations of the country and since a major amount of the foreign earnings are done by our members, therefore, it is our responsibility to create more awareness and help market the Indian states and provide a platform for better interaction between the states and the tour operators.” The convention will be held from August 20-23, 2015 at The Grand Bhagwati convention hall in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, with the inaugural ceremony taking place on August 20. Pronab Sarkar, secretary, IATO, will be the chairman of the convention, while Ravi Gosain, joint secretary, IATO and Sanjeev Joshi, executive committee member, IATO, will be the co-chairman.
Hoping to have over 1500 registrations, Goyal is optimistic about the ministerial attendees and informed that Dr Mahesh Sharma, minister of state for tourism & culture and civil aviation, Government of India; Shivraj Singh Chouhan, chief minister, Madhya Pradesh; Surendra Patwa, tourism minister, MP; Ashwani Lohani, MD, MP Tourism along with several other Rajya Sabha members will be present at the convention. “The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh has assured us that he would personally invite the prime minister to the convention,” he added.
Talking about the issues faced by the tour operators, which will be highlighted during the convention, Goyal stated, “The tour operators should be at par with the physical exporters in terms of exemption from service tax and therefore one of the sessions will be about the implications of the taxation policy.” He also informed that other sessions would focus on social media marketing and technological advancements beneficial to the tour operators.