HEENA MAHAJAN – New Delhi
The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), for the first time will be organizing its annual convention outside Delhi. For its 6th annual convention this year, the association as chosen Srinagar. With the theme ‘Domestic Tourism: Impetus to the National Growth’ the convention will be held from October 12-13, 2012 at SKICC in Srinagar. Speaking exclusively to Express TravelWorld on choosing Srinagar as the convention destination, Subhash Verma, president, ADTOI said, “Nawang Rigzin Jora, minister for tourism and culture, Jammu & Kashmir and we dreamt of taking ADTOI to Jammu and Kashmir, and finally we have been able to do it. We are expecting 350 delegates from across the globe. We will not only be promoting Srinagar, but Jammu and Ladakh as well. Pre convention tours to Gulmarg and Pahalgam have already been organised from October 10-12, 2012.” The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir has been requested to inaugurate the convention on the 12th. P P Khanna, vice president, ADTOI is the chairman of the convention organising committee and Harjinder Singh, executive council member is the co-chairman.
Rajat Sawhney, general secretary, ADTOI informed that the convention will surely act as a catalyst to boost tourism in the state and in return the growth of economy. With the current trends being witnessed in the tourism sector in Kashmir, the tourist inflow is expected to reach 20 million in the coming days.
PP Khanna, vice president & convention chairman, ADTOI informed that the convention is supported by Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Madhya Pradesh Tourism, Gujarat Tourism and Kerala Tourism have already confirmed their support. “We are also in talks with Kolkata and Mumbai,” informed Verma. RH Khwaja, secretary (Tourism) and Vipul Mittra, secretary tourism, Government of Gujarat and Ashwani Lohani, divisional railway manager, Northern Railways have confirmed their participation.
The convention will have two business sessions one with the government officials and other with stakeholders of the industry in Jammu and Kashmir. The first session will be on ‘Opportunities and Challenges in J&K’ and second session will focus on state tourism highlighting ‘Shaping Domestic Insights’. There will be B2B meeting with sellers and state presentations as well. The hoteliers and tour operators from all across the state will get a chance to meet local stakeholders of Jammu and Kashmir.
