Category Archives: Associations

FHRAI has submitted a representation requesting the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman to provide a ‘Special Credit Guarantee Window’ to the Hospitality sector under ECLGS. The association has asked that the Government standardizes and aligns tenures and moratorium facilities floated under ECLGS 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. It has also sought relief in the tenure of loan and moratorium facilities granted under the ECLGS 3.0.

IATO Executive Committee has relooked and restructured its Regional and State Chapters to expand its wings and strengthen its membership basis. IATO Kerala Chapter Chairman, Sejoe Jose, Managing Director, Marvel Tours will be the new Chairman of the IATO Southern region. He will replace EM Najeeb, who has been the Chairman of the Southern Region and has immensely contributed to the growth of IATO in the Southern Region. James Kodianthara, Managing Director, Concord Exotic Voyages (I) will take reigns in Kerala from Jose. Jitendra Kejriwal, Chairman, Arika Tour & Travels will lead the Maharashtra Chapter in place of Vasuki Sundaram. Separate Chapters have been announced for Uttarakhand and Ladakh, where Nidhish Sharma,  Managing Director, Garhwal Adventure, Dehradun and Tsering Namgyal, Managing Director, Windhorse Expeditions India, Ladakh being appointed as Chairman for Uttarakhand and Ladakh respectively. Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO while welcoming the new regional/state chapters mentioned that he is sure that this will help strengthen IATO membership base pan India and especially in Uttarakhand and Ladakh as there was no separate Chapter Chairman in these two states. With having State Chairman located at those places,  besides increasing membership base,  IATO will have better coordination and interaction with the state governments and the local trade

In order to provide timely assistance to its members and the fraternity at large, ADTOI has formed a task force from among its members. Rajiv Arora of Phoenix Holidays, New Delhi has been made in-charge of this task force along with some volunteers who will coordinate and collecting the authenticity of information which will then be circulated to all members pan India. Its main task will be to collect authentic information on availability of oxygen cylinders, ventilators, beds at hospitals, medicines, etc.

IATO has formed a Covid -19 Assistance Task Force to help its members who need help in this time of crisis. The main objective of this committee is to gather authentic information and provide assistance to members. it has requested support from its members for this as many members have their family members working or have contacts for hospitals, medical equipment suppliers and oxygen cylinder suppliers.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) which represents more than 1,600 operators for inbound tourists, has written to PM Modi asking for an intervention for amendment to conditions imposed by National Credit Guarantee Trustee (NCGTC) in implementation of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) which has been extended to travel and hospitality sectors. It provides operators access to easy emergency credit with the govt standing as guarantor.

The tourism fraternity in Kerala will observe May 1 as Black Day to pressure the state government to resolve problems faced by the sector. Tourism Samrakshana Samithi, an umbrella body of 20 organisations, will observe the Labour Day state wide by wearing black masks. A social media campaign #SaveTourism too will be launched. An immediate financial package of ₹250 crore to support tourism workers, financial aid as loan worth ₹2,500 crore through the Kerala Bank and restructuring of all loans in the sector are some of the demands.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced Liz Ortiguera as its next Chief Executive Officer effective May 17, 2021. She succeeds Dr Mario Hardy who will finish his term at the end of May. Ortiguera is a senior executive with over 25 years of global experience and expertise in general management, marketing, business development, and partner network management.

Rajiv Mehra, President – Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has been nominated from IATO EC to step in as the Honorary Secretary of FAITH.  A veteran of the travel trade, since 1977, Rajiv has been associated with the IATO Executive Committee since 2011, initially as its Executive Committee Member, thereafter as its Vice President and recently as its President.

Speaking on day one of WTTC’s Global Ssummit in Cancun, Gloria Guevara, CEO & President of WTTC, said, “The global recovery of the travel and tourism sector has begun. We are leading by example demonstrating how to execute a successful hybrid event with over 600 CEOs of the private sector attending and adhering to all health and safety protocols in place.”

Continuing with its efforts to find ways and means of enriching the members’ knowledge during these extremely challenging times, the Outbound Tour Operators of India (OTOAI) has recently collaborated with its recent associated member VisitPortugal,  to hold a series of webinars. The main purpose of these webinars is to enrich the knowledge of OTOAI members regarding Portugal as a tourism destination,  attracting visitors from all over the world (Europe’s Leading Destination 2020), to its seven and contrasting regions. Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI said, “There are new and revised set of guidelines for people travelling to mainland Portugal, in transit or with connecting flights, regarding which we aim to appraise our members. These Webinars are just one of the many initiatives that we have been taking over the last few months to help OTOAI members sail through these exceptionally challenging times. The international travel scenario is changing very fast and we need to stay updated with the same to offer trustworthy and authentic information to our customers.” Claudia Matias, VisitPortugal Director in India said, “We are a country with such heritage, diversity,  inclusiveness, warm hospitality and mild weather. We rank top searched destination of “European Best Destinations” in 2021. It is not a surprise that celebrities such as Madonna, John Malkovich, Monica Bellucci or Scarlett Johansson decided to settle in our amazing country. These webinars are a continuation of our commitment and B2B strategy in India, after opening our office in New Delhi in 2020. We find it extremely relevant to train our business partners, helping them to sell the destination better. Besides this, we look forward to organising FAM trips to gain first-hand knowledge about our country, once tourism from …