Category Archives: Associations

ATOAI organised its 26th Virtual Members Meet recently, where they introduced ATOAI Member Advantage Card. The card will empower its members in their marketing, sourcing, contracting and lowest possible B2B purchases enhancing their profitability.

Jitul Mehta, Western India Chairman, TAFI says, “I want our members to develop soft skills for themselves and for their staff because we are in the service business. So it is upon TAFI to educate its members so that they can sustain and grow their business in the long run and are equipped to deal with future challenges. A lot of them have registered for our online courses that we are offering free of cost on our website.”

ATOAI wrote to Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, requesting all state and UT governments and Regional Directors Tourism to hold a video conference with all state and UT tourism departments to discuss key issues in the adventure segment. 

IATO has announced Ravi Gosain-Vice President as Chairman of its 37th convention in Lucknow. Sunil Mishra-Hony. Treasurer and Prateek Hira-Chairman, IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter are the Co-Chairmen. IATO is expecting about 900-1000 delegates at the convention.

IATO conducted its 40th AGM and informed the members about a detailed note that has been sent to the ministry seeking special status for the Inbound tour operators, under which an incentive between 7 to 10% on the net foreign exchange earnings during a financial year might be given. 

Pradeep Shetty, EC Member, FHRAI & President, HRAWI, has shared that CCI has imposed penalties of Rs.223 Cr and Rs.168 Cr on Go-MMT and Oyo for anti-competition practices. “This is by far one of the biggest wins for the hospitality industry against the dominance of the aggregators,” he said..

After the success of its convention, TAFI has announced it will offer online courses on its website. Ajay Prakash, TAFI President, says, “TAFI has tied up with a company to provide a 100+ skilling courses on various subjects. This includes soft skills and education on specific topics. This will be offered on our website free of cost to all our members. The integration is happening right now and these courses will be online soon. These are some of the things we will be building upon. A convention happens every year or two but what you learn and discuss during the event needs to be taken forward and that is what we want to. I do hope our members take advantage of this.”

As per the latest ICRA report, international passenger traffic continues to rise since the resumption of the scheduled international operations with effect from March 27, 2022. In September 2022, international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 25.12 lakh, surpassing pre-Covid levels of 18.8 lakh by 34%.

India is a significant aviation market for the Asia Pacific and the rest of the world and is likely to experience strong demand for air travel, IATA said as the nation’s domestic air passenger traffic edged closer to pre-COVID levels. The Indian aviation industry, which was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, is now on the road to recovery, and airlines are ramping up employees and opening new routes to meet the growing demand for travel. IATA’s Regional VP for Asia Pacific, Philip Goh, said the Indian market is a “very important market and is already contributing massively to some parts of the world. “I can see many airline companies are starting, resuming or expanding network to India. India definitely is a key market for the region and the rest of the world,” he said.

At the 72nd Annual General Meeting of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) held on 24th September 2022, Pradeep Shetty – Director, Maharaja Hotels was elected the President. Maharaja Hotels operates hotels and restaurants, among other F&B facilities in Mumbai. Prior to taking over as the President, Shetty served as its Sr. Vice President and has been an active member of the Association for over a decade. He has also served as the Jt. Hon Secretary of the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India – the country’s apex Hospitality Association. The youngest President of the Association, Shetty is also considered one of the foremost legal minds on hospitality. He has spearheaded several legal campaigns at the behest of the hospitality industry and played a critical role in bringing together hoteliers and restaurateurs protesting the unethical business practices of OTAs and FSAs, cable TV / TRAI matters, service charges, and MRP issues faced by the members. “The pandemic dealt a big blow to the hospitality and tourism industry and although things are getting progressively better, there are several concerns that are yet to be addressed. The association’s endeavour is to do its best towards alleviating as many pain-points of its members and we will work closely with the State and Centre in policy advocacy for the growth of tourism and hospitality in the region. I thank the Executive Committee for their trust and for electing me as President of the Association,” says Shetty. The new office will have Nirav Gandhi and Chetan Mehta as the Sr. Vice President and Vice President of the Association. Jimmy Shaw will act as the Hon. Secretary, Dilip Kothari as the …