Niharika Shukla – New Delhi
The Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) recently launched its Maharashtra chapter in Mumbai. Abhijeet Patil, chairman, Raja Rani Travels, was appointed as chairman of the Maharashtra chapter and Parvez Dewan, secretary, Ministry of Tourism was the chief guest for the event. The Maharashtra chapter has been launched with the aim to increase the inflow of domestic tourists. ADTOI’s annual convention is also expected to be held in Maharashtra this year.
Speaking on the current position of tourism, Dewan stated, “Maharashtra is second in domestic tourism after Gujarat. Hotel developments are increasing in India because of the rise in domestic tourism which acts as the economic strength for our country. As compared to 2011, domestic tourists rose to 102 crore from 85 crore in 2012,” he said, adding that, “as compared to other states of the country, tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East needs to be promoted on a larger scale to make people aware of the safety measures being taken for the security of tourists.” While talking about Tawang as the new destination for tourists today, he also threw light upon the festival to be held in Tawang in October which will showcase the international travel mart wherein around 25-26 countries will also experience the culture of Tawang.
On this occasion Subhash Verma, president, ADTOI stated that domestic tourism is a tool of poverty alleviation and employment generation for the country and it will bring in national integration and lay the foundation for incoming tourism.
The event was attended by association heads of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Adventure Tour Operators of Maharashtra (ATOM), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETAA) and other officials from state tourism boards and hospitality industry apart from the executives of ADTOI committee.
