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ASSOCIATIONS
IATO's 25th annual convention starts in
Bengaluru
The 25th annual convention of Indian
Association of Tour Operators (IATO) was inaugurated on September 3 at The
Lalit Ashok Bangalore. Vijay Thakur, president, IATO, Arjun Sharma, senior
vice-president, IATO, Inder Sharma, chairman, Select Group of Hotels, Ghulam
Naqshband, chairman, emeritus, LPTI, Arvind Singh Mewar, chairman, HRH Group
of Hotels, Arun Anand, chairman, 25th IATO convention and Lally
Mathews, co-chairman,
25th IATO convention lit the lamp to kick-start
the three-day event. The inaugural ceremony witnessed a huge participation
from travel trade and hospitality industry. Anand delivered the welcome
speech while Thakur shed light on IATO’s achievements. Travel trade
veterans, including Inder Sharma, Naqshaband, Mewar and Subhash Goyal,
immediate past president, IATO shared their views on the association’s
relevance and presented an overview of travel trade in India. Arjun Sharma
proposed the vote of thanks. Although the inaugural ceremony started on an
upbeat note, the cultural programme to be organised in association
with Karnataka tourism could not be held due to the demise of YSR Reddy,
chief minister, Andhra Pradesh. Several dignitaries, including Hans Raj
Bharadwaj, governor, Karnataka, Sultan Ahmed, state minister for tourism,
Sujit Banerjee, secretary tourism, government of India and G Janardhana
Reddy, minister of tourism and infrastructure development, Karnataka, could
not attend the programme due to two-day mourning observed by Karnataka as a
mark of respect to Andhra chief minister.
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Tourism in Asia Pacific region falls by 6 per
cent from January-June: PATA
Latest figures released by the Pacific
Asia Travel Association (PATA) indicate that the number of international
tourist arrivals to Asia Pacific region fell by six per cent in January-June
compared to the corresponding period in 2008. Recession continued to dampen
the tourism demand while the month of May confirmed the swine flu outbreak.
The travel and tourism sector in Asia Pacific immediately felt the impact
with a steep 10 per cent decline in visitors’ turnout. However, there was a
slight improvement in June. All five sub-regions of Asia Pacific region
posted declines in visitor arrivals in the first half of 2009 with
South Asia recording the largest fall at 8.1 per cent.
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IATO to organise roadshows on medical tourism
in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait & Doha in October
IATO, in coordination with the Ministry
of Tourism, will organise conference cum roadshows on medical tourism in
Dubai on October 4, Saudi Arabia (October 6), Kuwait (October 8) and Doha
(October 10). While expenditure on roadshows would be met by the concerned
overseas offices, all expenses on travel and stay of the delegates would be
borne by the participating members directly. IATO has also planned to bring
out a participants’ directory to be handed over to foreign tour operators
attending the event. In the directory, one page will be dedicated to each
member with their company information and profile.
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TAFI targets 1,000 participants for annual
convention, registrations to close on September 30
The Travel Agents Federation of India
(TAFI), which has over 1,700 members across India, will hold its annual
convention in Chiang Mai, Thailand from October 22-25. The Federation is
targetting the participation of 1,000 delegates. The association commenced
registration for the convention from July 31 and has, so far, received
registrations from more than 200 participants. Registrations are set to
close on September 30.
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HOTELS
Choice Hotels India and Peninsula Hotels
jointly open Quality Inn The Mayflower in Tuticorin
Choice Hotels India and Peninsula Hotels
recently announced the signup of Quality Inn The Mayflower in Tuticorin
under a franchise agreement. The hotel commenced its operations recently.
Quality Inn The Mayflower, with 51 rooms, offers contemporary guest rooms.
The hotel is close to the city centre, a short distance from the railway
station and about 5 km from Tuticorin airport. The hotel also has
state-of-the-art conference and banquet facilities with two banquet halls
that can accommodate upto 300 guests.
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MOT
MOT issues guidelines on building world class
infrastructure in India
The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has issued
guidelines on the basis of recommendations made at the recent MOT workshop
on world class infrastructure. It has urged states and union territories to
expedite the process of infrastructure development. Sujit Banerjee,
secretary tourism, government of India has urged chief secretaries of all states and union
territories to implement fresh guidelines pertaining to urban civic
amenities, heritage sites, signages, climatically responsive architecture,
urban landscape, food craft institutes and hotel management institutes.
Emphasising on the relevance of these guidelines in designing and
implementing tourism projects in their respective regions, the centre has
warned that any delay in the implementation of a tourism project might lead
to its cancellation.
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MOT organises roadshows in Finland, Sweden &
Norway
The recent series of roadshows organised
in Helsinki (Finland), Stockholm (Sweden) and Oslo (Norway) from August
25-28 were well received and generated a lot of interest in destination
India. Kumari Selja, union minister of tourism, led the roadshows. The
roadshows were organised in association with PATA India Chapter and local
PATA Chapters in Scandinavia. A total of 49 tour operators participated in
the roadshow in Helsinki, 54 in Stockholm and 45 in Oslo.
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NTO
India Tourism, Beijing to organise
Incredible India roadshow at Hangzhou on September 26
India Tourism, Beijing
along with the consulate general of India, Shanghai will organise an
Incredible India roadshow at Hangzhou, China on September 26. Coinciding
with the PATA Travel Mart, which is being held from September 22 to 25, the
roadshow will be followed by an India evening. Members of travel trade and
media from Hangzhou, PATA members and officials of Hangzhou Tourism will
attend the event. At the roadshow, IRCTC will make a presentation to launch
the Maha Parinirvana Buddhist Special Train in the Chinese market.
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STATES
Inter-state tourist vehicle movement to be
streamlined
Effective December 1, the state
governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan are likely to
follow the request of the Ministry of Tourism (MOT) regarding removal of
check-posts for tax collection from tourist vehicles. After series of
meetings with the MOT and Indian Tourist Transporters Association, the state
governments have reportedly agreed to implement the policy. Due to MOT’s
initiatives, other states are likely to follow suit by April 2010. Under the
proposed set up, inter-state tax will be collected centrally in New Delhi
and would be transferred to respective states later on.
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TECHNOLOGY
Travelport & IBM jointly deliver integrated
expense management and booking solution
Travelport and IBM have joined hands to
develop an integrated expense management and booking solution. Travelport
will focus on its core competencies of delivering global distribution system
(GDS) content and online travel management booking solution while IBM will
provide expense management services through its well known global expense
reporting solutions (GERS). GERS enables employees to submit, approve,
reimburse and monitor business related expenses with an efficient automated
workflow.
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South Africa Tourism Board organises fifth In-Country
Famil at Hyderabad
The South African Tourism Board held its
fifth In-Country Famil at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre from
August 31-September 3. This year around, 40 per cent of South African
delegates were first-timers and were visibly impressed with their Indian
counterparts. The In-Country Famil brought together important SA delegates
on one platform with Indian travel trade. The Indian travel agents discussed
products and other subjects with SA delegates.
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