Category Archives: Agents

According to a research and analysis conducted by CAPA India recently, all funding options need to be on the table and fully explored by the Indian airlines to identify the most appropriate and viable for implementation. It includes the element of Original Equipment Manufacturing compensation. The industry’s financial challenges will become increasingly apparent from September-October. Promoters, bankers, private equity and the government are all unwilling to provide support given demand risk and uncertainty.

As part of the panel during a webinar on risk management recently, Anoop Kanuga, MC Member of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Head of its Tourism Council, said, “Training existing talent to improve efficiencies will take precedence in the current situation. Digitization will play an important role and travel agencies will have to ensure that they are equipped with appropriate digital infrastructure to be ahead of the curve. Those who are nimble and are able to move quickly and address the changing needs of the traveller will emerge as winners in the long run.”

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), along with its Managing Committee, has decided to reduce its annual subscription for its agents by 25 per cent across the board in view of the current situation. Pradip Lulla, President, TAFI, says, “We realise that there isn’t much business for the trade right now. Keeping this in mind we decided to reduce our fee.” The association is looking to conduct its virtual convention in November and will shortly finalise the details.

Sharing his experience and perception of Thailand as a holiday destination, Rajeev Sabharwal, CEO, Gaurav Travels, says, “We have had wonderful experiences on our trips to Thailand over the years, whether it is destination weddings, MICE movements, or holidays with family and friends. The Thai hospitality and its cuisine are the reasons that make Thailand a great destination.”

Yatra Online has announced its collaboration with Amazon Business, in an effort to provide hospitality partners with products, catering to the hospitality segment.- Hospitality partners can access over 15 crore products ranging from commercial-grade kitchen appliances, home décor products, large appliances, consumer electronics, office supplies and much more with GST invoice and with discounts linked to bulk volume purchase. Commenting on this association Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder & CEO, Yatra.com, said, “We are glad to announce our association with Amazon Business to help our hospitality partners for all their daily and monthly product requirements. This is another step towards diversification of our portfolio beyond travel. Backed with our extensive network of hotels across India, we are moving ahead to extend our portfolio through seamless integration on the Yatra partner platform. Amazon has been a market leader in the e-commerce space and through Amazon Business, we want to offer an avenue to our partners where necessities are just a ‘click’ away.” Sharing his comments on the tie-up, Peter George, Director, Amazon Business, said, “We are happy to partner with Yatra.com and help its hospitality partners get access to a one stop destination for all their emerging operational needs. Amazon Business marketplace helps business customers conveniently discover and save on over 15 Cr products ranging from commercial grade kitchen appliances, Large Appliances, Home Décor, Office supplies and storage solutions and more with the added advantage of GST invoice for input tax credit and bulk purchase discounts. The partnership will help our sellers reach lakhs of hotels across the country as they kick-start operations again.”     This initiative is live on Yatra’s hospitality partner platform and is available pan-India. Extending the company’s purpose of …

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel along with MOT officials met legendary cricketer and Padma Bhushan awardee Kapil Dev to discuss the promotion of tourism, especially golf tourism in India.   .  

Speaking about his experience and perception of Thailand, Guldeep Singh Sahni, MD, Weldon Tours & Travels, says, “Serene beaches, fantastic attractions, and delicious food. Thailand has everything one needs for a vacation. The country is very welcoming and safe for visitors. For many, Thailand is a weekend destination. But for me and my family, we think of Thailand when we want to take some time off. We love holidaying here. Come together with Thailand.”  

Rajan Sehgal, President, Indian Golf Tourism Association (IGTA) and MC member of TAAI, believes that golf tourism in India will be in great demand after the monsoons are over. “The first thing that opened after Unlock 1.0 were the golf courses. They opened all over the world. Even the ones in Delhi-NCR are full. This is because they offer open spaces, give us a chance to connect with nature, and physical distancing is maintained. I think, golf tourism in India will be in great demand after the monsoons  because Indian golfers, who used to travel to Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam for golf, will now travel within India. It will give a big boost as Delhi golfers will travel to Rajasthan, South India, and Central India to play golf. We had a serious session with the advisor to Governor of Kashmir, and we requested him to open tourism at the earliest in the UT, so that we can attract a lot of visitors from across India to Jammu & Kashmir,” he said.

EM Najeeb, President, Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry (CKTI), met Kadakampally Surendran, Tourism Minister of Kerala and thanked him for the Rs 445cr package and support on behalf of the entire tourism industry. “The minister has informed me that another package for the houseboat sector, homestay sector as well as the tourist guides will be announced this week,” he revealed.

According to a LinkedIn report, people working in the travel sector are seven times more likely to look for a job in a different sector right now. Competition for jobs is heating up compared to six months ago, with average applications per job posted on LinkedIn increasing from around 90 in January to 180 in June 2020.