The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) with the support of the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Commission (YPTDC) will be organising TAAI’s 65th convention in Kunming in Yunnan province from November 27 to 29, 2018 at the InterContinental Hotel Kunming. This is the first time TAAI will be organising its annual convention in China.
The convention was the result of extensive discussions between TAAI and YPTDC over the past one year. Kunming is directly connected from Delhi and Kolkata and has extensive connectivity from India via Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Guangzhou. TAAI looks at this convention as a huge tourism connect opportunity of two large countries of the world – China and India. The theme of the convention ‘Tourism Beyond Boundaries’ is in line with this objective of mutual tourism growth. Speaking exclusively to Express TravelWorld, Sunil Kumar, president,TAAI said, “For the industry stakeholders, certainly this is a huge opportunity which they must optimise to the fullest. TAAI Conventions have always brought huge visibility to the destinations where they are held and Kunming, will soon become a popular destination for India. TAAI’s endeavour is to attract mutual tourism growth and we believe this convention is an initiative towards the same.”
He added that Kunming as a city and Yunnan as a province, are exceptionally impressive and attractive. “The close proximity to India is a huge draw. Quality of hotels, particularly those that are chosen for our convention and the pre-post tours reflect high luxury. These kind of properties can encourage tourism especially MICE and speciality events like weddings which Indians are well known for. Another feature of the convention in Kunming is our golf initiative, and we are sure the splendid golf courses in Yunnan will get the desired visibility,” he informed.
Commenting on China as an important source market for India, Kumar said, “China is an important neighbour and its growing outbound is a huge opportunity which must be capitalised by Indian industry. This convention will be an eye-opener for those who are ready to connect with this opportunity and plan the right strategy to support growth and success.”
Around 550 delegates will be attending the event. There are two days of knowledge sessions with eminent industry speakers. “We have global speakers and national leaders interacting with our delegates. The sessions endeavour to empower the delegates with updates, trends, opportunities and support architecting one’s own design to sustain success in the evolving environment,” he said.
2018 has witnessed many challenges for the industry stakeholders. TAAI continues to represent the industry to help overcome these challenges and offer newer approaches to facilitate growth and development. Kumar stated, “2018 also continued to take TAAI to higher levels of membership, extensive interaction on IATA matters with nationwide orientation on the revolutionary NewGen ISS resolution that IATA has come up with. NAMASTAAI has upgraded in content and design to a higher level and has become even more popular among the readers. The icing on the cake has been the launch of TAAI Connect, our digital empowerment programme. This will revolutionise the way a travel agency will want to reflect its image and service to its customers.”