Category Archives: Agents

Addressing concerns from member agencies regarding refunds/credits from airlines/ IATA due to the impact of Covid2019 as customers are demanding refunds from travel agents, TAAI has said, “With reference to the unilateral decision of the airlines to give credit notes and no cash refunds, we have made it very clear to all concerned that, cash refunds are required due to the global pandemic situation. It is the right of the passenger to get back his amount paid in stipulated time. Cancellation charges shall not be borne by the traveller due to the cancellation of flights/ lockdown situations/ banning of flights by government of India as well as of other countries, etc.” In an official statement by TAAI to its members, it was written, “We are in daily communications with the Indian Prime Minister’s office(PMO), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Tourism (MOT), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Niti Aayog, IATA Global Head Quarters, IATA-India, all airlines individually including Low Cost airlines in India. We are working in support with, all associations of travel, tourism & hospitality trade under UFTAA, FAITH, CII and other leading trade bodies. Our concerns have been voiced not only in our communications but also in mainline media being TV channels & newspapers, trade media as well as social media.” The TAAI team urged its members to be patient, claiming that the as Govt. of India, is prioritising the requests of citizens, industries, trade, travellers, etc. and are actioning to the best of their abilities, with timelines. “Their main objective right now is to ensure the health safety of all persons and providing proper medical …

An official statement by IATA has said that travel agents can make payment settlements later without penalties, in the wake of the global crisis of COVID-19. The statement read “For travel agents, we’re allowing settlements to be made a bit later, without penalties. While remittance periods have been kept in accordance with BSP Calendars, we are taking a flexible approach and preliminary figures confirm this, showing that default rates in 2020 are a bit below the year-ago period—despite the stresses on the system in 2020.” In addition, recognising the fact that it may be difficult or impossible to get audited financial statements, or arrange a financial guarantee, “IATA is offering to extend deadlines for these statements by up to a month.”

TravTalk Digital Conclave – India’s first virtual tourism conclave – is all set to take place tomorrow, April 7, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. The conclave will be divided into three sessions, each designed to help the travel trade survive in present times amid the COVID-19 crisis, while also focusing on what the future holds for both inbound and outbound tourism. Three eminent speakers and industry experts will speak on a subject during each of the sessions. Session-1 will focus on ‘When will inbound bounce back? What action can tour operators take in the interim?’ Speakers for this session will be Rupinder Brar (ADG – Ministry of Tourism), Himmat Anand (Founder – Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels) and Homa Mistry (CEO – Trail Blazer Tours). The next session will delve on the subject ‘Outbound tourism: Weathering the storm and gearing up for better days’. Speakers for this session will include experts like Tricia Warwick (APMEA Director – VisitBritain), GB Srithar (Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia – Singapore Tourism Board) and Deepak Rawat (Senior Vice President, International Markets – MakeMyTrip). Session-3 will cover the topic ‘Coronavirus – A small roadblock or a major disrupter for the tourism industry?’ This session will have industry experts Suman Billa (Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development – UNWTO), Kapil Kaul (CEO, India & ME – CAPA) and Naveen Kundu (Managing Director – EbixCash Travel & Holidays), share their expert advice with the travel trade.

According to the latest data provided by International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline industry could be staring at an estimated $35 billion of ticket refunds. This, clubbed with significant fixed and semi-fixed costs of which many cannot be avoided over a short period of time, can amount to the airline industry using up to $61 billion from its cash reserve in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020. This comes after IATA’s impact assessment released earlier, which showed that the industry was looking at a net loss of $39 billion in Q2 2020.

Sandeep Dwivedi, COO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), has said that they have been helping agents with online tools that aid in swift cancellations, reissue and refunds. “ITQ is doing what we have always done i.e. be a responsible intermediary between airlines and travel agents, communicating all developments, especially those related to GDS (Global Distribution System) and flight bookings; even more in these tough times. Further, teams at ITQ are providing 24*7 support to travel agents for reissue and cancellation of flight bookings, and even helping install system online for agents to work smoothly from home. In addition, following these sudden developments, we are providing handy Travelport Smartpoint hacks such as refunds using linear entry to make transacting easier and swifter for our agents. We are on the edge, serving agents by resolving queries and recording apprehensions and issues for future in order to accommodate the same in our system, if adversity worsens or for when it smoothens out. On priority, we are taking all necessary actions to prepare ourselves and our system for managing any probable or unexpected requirements smoothly,” he said.  

Subhash Goyal, Secretary General, FAITH, has revealed that in the wake of the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on travel and tourism industry, they will be approaching Ministry of Tourism (MOT) and urge them to use their unutilised funds for immediate relief of the industry. “2020 should be declared a tourism draught year because we are sure that in the entire year, tourism is not going to be revived. All the airlines would remain grounded, and we know that all visas have been cancelled. Hence, our revenues have totally dried up. We had a meeting through video conferencing of the FAITH board members, which consists of all the presidents of all the associations, and it has unanimously decided to approach our parent ministry—MOT—to utilise its unutilised funds of the MOT for immediate relief for the tour operators, travel agents and particularly the small and medium operators. We do not have money to pay the salaries and the various statutory obligation. Hence, it is very important that at least Rs. 1,500 crores from the old budget of the tourism ministry and the new budget should be given as immediate relief. The TCS, which has been extended at the moratorium of loans and interest, should be extended for at least one year and TCS should be completely scrapped because it will kill the outbound tourism of the country.”

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, with an aim to extend support to the foreign tourists who are stranded in our country because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has set up a portal to disseminate information regarding the services that can be availed by them. The portal is titled ‘Stranded in India’. And it is also hosted on Incredible India website also. The portal will help tourists get information/details of State Tourism departments and Regional offices of Ministry of tourism to help you to stay safe and healthy while in India. It will also help you find information on ways of getting back to your home country. Please visit strandedinindia.com or incredibleindia.org for further details.

Expo 2020 Dubai has been postponed, and will now take place next year. The event’s Steering Committee convened a second virtual meeting, with representatives of the countries taking part in the event, as part of ongoing consultations that the impact of COVID-19 will have on global preparations of Expo 2020 Dubai. The Committee collectively agreed to explore with the BIE, the World Expo governing body, the possibility of a one-year delay to the opening of Expo 2020. The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), will now work with its Member States and Expo 2020 Dubai organisers to establish a change in dates. A final decision on postponement can only be made by the BIE’s Executive Committee and the General Assembly. Article 28 of the BIE Convention stipulates that, a change of dates requires a two-thirds majority vote from Member States of the Organisation. Participating countries briefed the Steering Committee on the global precautionary measures that have to be taken to ensure the health and safety of all those involved in the preparation of this mega event. The Steering Committee reviewed with grave concern the major impact that the spread of COVID-19 is having on global public, social, and economic health. The members reaffirmed their solidarity with the international community as it navigates through the ramifications that have resulted from this unprecedented global crisis. Expo 2020 organisers reaffirmed the United Arab Emirates commitment to working hand in hand with its international partners to deliver a World Expo which holds true to its founding purpose: providing an inclusive global platform to address shared challenges, and seek solutions in the spirit of international cooperation and global solidarity. The global platform that Expo 2020 will …

Taking knowledge sharing to a new level, TravTalk India has launched India’s first virtual tourism conclave—TravTalk Digital Conclave, which is all set to be held on 7th April, 2020. Starting at 10 am, the first-of-its-kind conclave will have eminent speakers from the industry. To register go to http://travtalkindia.com/digital/ or contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532. The topics would cover the various aspects of the impact of COVID-19 on inbound and outbound tourism, and the way forward for the industry. The speakers include Suman Billa-UNWTO; Rupinder Brar- Ministry of Tourism; Kapil Kaul- CAPA India; Deepak Rawat- MakeMyTrip; Naveen Kundu- EbixCash; Himmat Anand- Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels; Homa Mistry- Trail Blazer Tours India; GB Srithar- Singapore Tourism Board; Tricia Warwick- Visit Britain; and many more.

In a statement, the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) said that the Ministry of Finance has deferred the implementation of the TCS amendments proposed in the Union Budget 2020-21 till 1st October 2020. Making amendments in the Finance Bill 2020 before getting in passed in the Lok Sabha, the Finance Minister decided to defer the implementation of the much talked about TCS provisions to charge 5 per cent income tax on the sale of overseas tour packages and foreign exchange remittances from the buyer by the virtue of Section 206C under the Income Tax Act. OTOAI further said it will continue this dialogue and strive for the complete rollback of TCS altogether by highlighting its adverse impact on Indian outbound operators and how it would render us uncompetitive given the competitive landscape which also includes foreign players. OTOAI will keep addressing various issues concerning overseas travel with the respective ministries for the benefit of the outbound tour operators and its members.