Tag Archives: President

IATO’s 37th convention has started with a lot of enthusiasm. Speaking about the convention , Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO said, “The registrations have surpassed 1000 delegates and the association is all set to welcome guests from across the country.”

The 37th IATO Annual Convention is set to start in Lucknow today and will be inaugurated by Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh at the Centrum Hotel, Lucknow at 6 pm. The inauguration of the IATO Travel Mart will be done at 7pm, revealed Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO while addressing the Interactive Luncheon Meeting said, “The way the preparations are going and the response the association is receiving, we’re expecting 1100-1200 people including member spouses as invitees.”

Sharing details of the business sessions during the upcoming TAFI convention in Kuching, Malaysia, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, says, “We will explore the theme – Build Back Better – in detail during our knowledge sessions. We have invited speakers who have built back brands after Covid and who have re-invented their businesses so they can share their experience with everyone.”

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has said that India should do some kind of advertising that our country has the Presidency of G20 and that people should visit India during this period. Kit needs to be done to increase Forex earnings and to increase business.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has said that the 37th IATO Annual Convention, which was scheduled to be held in Bangalore from 15th to 18th September 2022 has been called off due to unavoidable circumstances arising out of the withdrawal of support by the Karnataka Tourism in spite of giving written confirmation for hosting the convention in Bangalore. Mehra informed that all arrangements made for the convention in Bangalore have been cancelled due to this development which are beyond our control. IATO had booked 400 rooms at Hotel Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn and the convention hall but had to release all bookings due to withdrawal of support from Karnataka Tourism in spite of announcing the same at the inaugural function of IATO 36th Annual Convention in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat and over 750 delegates. This development is very unfortunate which IATO never expected from Depart of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka. The convention may now happen in December.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has shared that they know that SEIS will not be given by the government. Hence, they have requested the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce that at least for tour operators and travel agents, whatever they earn in foreign exchange, a 5-10% duty drawback should be given to them. “But nothing has happened. We have had no response or no further meetings on this with them. There has been no headway. So, it looks like the government doesn’t want to do that. We have told them that to support the industry, this is the minimum they can do.”

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has said, “With yoga day being celebrated worldwide, India will come to the mind of everyone and publicity will be in favour of India as a destination for the same. The message will be loud and clear for India.”

Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, has said, “Yoga is India’s gift to the world. Wellness Tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the industry and yoga occupies a very important place in the pursuit of wellness. The Covid pandemic brought mass tourism to a halt and as travel revives we can see a shift in the attitude of travellers – they are more focused and more discerning. India is uniquely placed as the home of three vital elements of wellness – yoga, Ayurveda and meditation, together they constitute a powerful magnet to attract the sensitive and ecologically aware tourist to our country.”

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO has requested the government to remove hurdles which are creating hindrances in revival of inbound tourism to our country and also has requested to help in in getting refund of travel agents from Jet Airways. He has requested to MoCA that directives should be issued to all domestic airlines, not to make it compulsory for the travelers to do web check-in.