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Archana Sharma – New Delhi
The 30th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), held at the Kempinski Ambience Hotel, New Delhi, witnessed deliberations on the expectations of members on government’s focus on tourism. Promoting the theme of the convention ‘New beginnings, Fresh Ideas, Vibrant Future’ Subhash Goyal, president, IATO stated, “The tourism industry is the largest employment generator in the world. By promoting tourism, we are promoting creation of employment opportunities and thus helping in eradicating poverty.”
Elaborating on the agenda, Rajeev Kohli, chairman- convention and vice president, IATO, said, “In the last three years we have changed the format of the convention. We are moving away from generic sessions of policies towards specific issues concerning operations of the travel trade.” He added, “The mandate of IATO is to showcase new products and destinations, and with this comes the challenge of deciding the venue and location, as the convention has grown and crossed 1200 members this year for the convention.” Adding to this point, Goyal stated, “The tourism industry is not limited to Central Delhi and Kempinski is the biggest convention hotel here.”
Promoting skilled development as IATO’s new mantra, Pronab Sarkar, honourary secretary, IATO, stated, “The tourism industry is growing in the country but our aim to ensure that the growth rate is doubled, with rural and village tourism also being focused.”
While talking about the expectations of IATO from the new government, Goyal stated, “We hope that the government will launch the e-visa facility by October this year and increase the luggage weight to 20kgs for international travellers. I also request the government to stop discriminating against tour operators and domestic carriers.”
During the conference, Goyal also requested the Kerala government to withdraw the prohibition policy. “This is not only a state issue but also a national one as the business from Kerala will move to Sri Lanka, their biggest competitor for travel and tourism trade, thus leading to a tremendous loss to the nation.”
Razit Bhandari, senior marketing manager, Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board and Om Vijay Chaudhary, chief general manager, operations and marketing, Madhya Pradesh Tourism, were also present at the conference.