Category Archives: Associations

In a recent awareness session conducted on the opening of Sri Lanka for Indian traveller, Sanath Ukwatte, President, The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said “Sri Lanka is now open for Indians. We are getting about 1,000 requests a day for visas from Indians which is a huge surge.” Indian travellers travelling to Sri Lanka should have the Indian government approved vaccination certificate that is the mandatory guideline issued by Sri Lanka.

ATOAI Women’s Collective is organising the first ever gender sensitization workshop for the entire adventure travel industry. The virtual workshop will be held on Friday, 10th September, 2021 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM and will be conducted by an organisation called ‘Devee’, led by Priyadarshini Narendra, an IIM and INSEAD Alumni, and Doorva Bahuguna, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. Arshdeep Anand, Chairperson, ATOAI Women’s Collective, said, “We want to start with the basics, which is to have the sense of gender sensitivity amongst everyone connected with the trade and otherwise also, because men and women work together in evry field now, and hence we need to know what is the appropriate behaviour towards each other. It is meant for both men and women as we both need to understand how we need to work together and go forward in life.”

Encouraging his members to register themselves with MoT and as MSMEs, Jitul Mehta, Chairman, Western India, TAFI, says, “I have been talking about MoT and MSME since the last five years. These topics are very close to my heart and I shall continue to focus on them for our members. There are benefits in terms of the government schemes for accredited tourism entities and how MSME registration can help them obtain business loans at a lower rate with minimum documentation. Being registered as a MSME could also help to recover outstandings from corporates.”

The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India in collaboration with Department of Tourism, Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is organizing an event titled Ladakh: New Start, New Goals from 25th -28th August 2021. The objective of the event is to promote tourism to Ladakh as a tourist destination with focus on aspects of adventure, culture and responsible tourism.

TAAI recently organised its first virtual workshop on wellness and tourism through its initiative, Women in TAAI and Travel (WITT). Rolled out only last month, WITT’s membership has now reached 300. Keeping in mind the issues and challenges faced by the women in the industry, WITT decided to organise its first workshop on wellness. Jyoti Mayal, President, WITT & TAAI said, “Within a woman is the power to create, nurture, and transform. We should remember that wellness is not simply the absence of illness or stress, but a broad practice of internal and external behaviours even when experiencing challenges.”  

Members of the Enterprising Travel Agents’ Association (ETAA) North India committee met at the Best Western Country Club Resort, Manesar on 12th August 2021 for a discussion on the positive rebound of the domestic business. The Best Western  group talked about their various aspects of their property , they helped them explore and know more about their property through a presentation and discussed  the various new offerings of the unit. It was an exhaustive show around which was very educative and informative for the members learning about the fine nuances of the unit.

At an event in Mumbai, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, highlighted the need to have credible data as an industry. “We need to collate information like pre-pandemic business figures, employee numbers, etc so that we have some authenticated data right until the decline started. We then need to get a professional agency to conduct a comprehensive survey. This will put us in a strong position when we make our representation to the government and show them what this industry is worth.”

Sanjay Agrawal, President, Ph.D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that that the unrest in Afghanistan may lead to a huge loss for Indian medical tourism. He revealed that Afghan patients and their friends and family members contribute around Rs 1.5-2 billion to the Indian economy. It is believed that for citizens from Afghanistan, India is a cheap healthcare destination where hospitals offer quality treatment at reasonable rates.

SpiceJet on  Thursday said it will begin trial of IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass mobile app for digital health verification. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021, as a step towards building passenger confidence as international travel picks up. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “SpiceJet is proud to collaborate with IATA to trial IATA’s Travel Pass initiative. Passenger safety and comfort has always been our top priority and the introduction of the Travel Pass will make the verification process absolutely simple and hassle-free, boost both passenger and government confidence and make international travel more efficient and secure.” “I am happy that IATA has confirmed SpiceHealth labs for the Travel Pass trial enabling it to securely share certified test and vaccination certificates with passengers that will be recognized by governments abroad.” “Adding SpiceJet to the growing list of airlines trialling IATA Travel Pass is another step towards demonstrating to governments how digital solutions can effectively manage both COVID-19 vaccine and test certificates for travel. IATA Travel Pass will simplify and enhance compliance with health requirements for SpiceJet’s passengers, facilitating a more seamless experience,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety,and Security. The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile application that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for COVID-19 tests or vaccinations. The Travel Pass will manage and verify the traveller’s COVID-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements. In another significant development, SpiceHealth has been on-boarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet. SpiceHealth has …

Members of TAAI’s Madhya Pradesh & Chhatisgarh Chapter recently conducted a tree plantation drive at Indore Airport. Also present at the event were PC Sharma, Airport Director, IDR, and M Singh, Deputy Commandant, CISF, along with other TAAI chapter members.