Tourism
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India's tourism industry hit by 26/11, Swine flu scare: Selja
"Owing to the terror attack on Mumbai, subsequent Swine flu scare and global recession, tourism has taken a hit in India as well," she told newspersons in London on Monday. She said between January and October this year, there were 40.23 lakh foreign tourists as against 43.24 lakh during the corresponding period last year. The foreign exchange earned from tourism during the period between January and October this year was USD 8600 million as against USD 9696 million during the corresponding period last year - a 10.3 percent decline. However, in terms of Rupees, the Foreign Exchange Earnings this year till October was Rs 42,395 crores as against Rs 40,712 crores during the corresponding period last year - an increase of 4.1 percent. Tourists from USA took the top position with 8,27, 866 visiting India last year followed the UK - 7,87,197. Describing tourism industry in India as a "dynamic industry" Shelja said it contributed 6 percent to the GDP and accounted for 9 percent of the work force. "It is growing and in future we hope to see a lot of growth in the sector," she said. Asked about the tourism situation in Kashmir, she said though there were certain incidents, "I am glad to say in the recent months things have been looking up in Kashmir." The minister was speaking at the three-day World Travel Market in London which opened on Monday, 21 states and 60 private organisations are participating. She hoped that at least one lakh people will visit Delhi - both from India and abroad - during the Commonwealth Games in October next year. "India provides a wide variety of tourist destinations - adventure tourism, beaches, mountains, wildlife, wellness and we want to promote tourism in a big way," she added. "India is home to over 30 World Heritage sites, few countries can boast such cultural diversity, from the ruins of Hampi to the legacy of great Moghul monuments such as the Taj Mahal," Selja said. Rajan Mehra bags Aviation AwardBy Deepak Arora
Rajan is a well known Aviation professional who has held leadership positions in some of the world's leading airlines like JAL,Asiana,Qatar Airways and Finnair. He has played an important role in the launch of Asiana Airlines,Qatar Airways and Finnair in India. The 5th Hospitality India & Explore the World annual International Awards were announced here. This year China was the partner country and China Tourism was the Principal Partner. The awards function was a glittering event, with music, stage shows, and live fashion shows where India's top models walked the ramp.
Awards were given in several different categories of Hospitality and Aviation. Rajan Mehra thanked the committee for this acknowledgment and said "I am delighted to receive this recognition. I am happy that I could play a small role in bringing in some foreign airlines into the country.” He said “India has now been globally acknowledged as a vibrant and dynamic aviation market with tremendous potential. The large Indian middle class is now travelling like never before and India holds tremendous potential for foreign airlines to set up base here. At the same time, the Indian economy and the Indian customer would also greatly benefit from this increased connectivity." French tourism company buys Mahatma Gandhi's house in South AfricaJOHANNESBURG, Oct 7: Mahatma Gandhi's historic house here that was his home almost a century ago has been snapped up by a French tourism company for what is believed to be almost twice the asking price of $377,029, outbidding other bidders including Indians. The specialist touring company Voyageurs du Monde, which is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, plans to turn the property into a Gandhi museum in line with its philosophy of investing in heritage properties worldwide. The then young lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi lived in the house from 1908 to 1910. The thatched-roof rondavel-style house was designed by Gandhi's confidant and architect Hermann Kallenbach. The company beat other bidders including Indian and Malaysian businessmen who are Gandhi's followers. Coal India Limited had also evinced interests in acquiring the property. The previous owners of the house, Nancy and Jarrod Ball, bought the house for Rand 65,000 in 1981 and have sold it because they are retiring to the coast. The couple said they were very relieved that the buyer would be respecting the Gandhian heritage that had also led to them retaining the original character of the home. Informally referred to as 'the Kraal', the house in the leafy suburb of Orchards in Johannesburg is one of several that Gandhi lived in during his stay here as he developed his Satyagraha philosophies and led the local Indian community in their struggle against oppression. Tourism not only generates revenue, but also goodwill for the country: H R BhardwajBy Deepak Arora
Speaking at the event to mark the silver jubilee of IATO convention that returned to Karnataka after 12 years, the Governor said the state's manifestation of culture such as Kodava culture, Yakshagana and Mysore dasara will appear in the Unesco world heritage list soon.
The Governor also complimented KSTDC for the country's first super-luxury train -- the Golden Chariot.
Tourism department principal secretary K Jothiramalingam said after doing much groundwork in developing destinations and attracting new players, this is a welcome opportunity to showcase destinations in a new light.
Cultural programmes, dances and theatres were organized by the department. The IATO `Hall of Fame' award was given to Arvind Singh Mewar from Udaipur.
Govt must give package for revival of travel and tour tradeIATO silver jubilee convention takes off in Bangaluru By Deepak Arora
In his Presidential address at the 25th annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Mr Thakur said the government must abolish the service tax and further liberalise its aircraft charter policy to give impetus to the travel and tour trade.
Chairman of the Convention, Arun Anand, said the meet would showcase Karnataka. He offered to plant 20,000 saplings to offset the carbon contents that the convention may contribute in the city during the four-day conference. The convention cancelled its cultural programmes in the light of death of Andhra Chief Minister in the tragic helicopter crash. The members also paid their tribute to Dr Y S Reddy.
Inder Sharma and Lakshman, doyens of the travel industry, also spoke on the occasion. Arjun Sharma, Vice President IATO, gave a vote of thanks. Later, Arvind Singh Mewar inaugurated the Travel Mart organised at the Lalit Hotel as part of the three-day convention. IATO Inaugural in Pix
IATO Inaugural in Pix
IATO signs MoU with National Tour Association, USA to boost tourismBy Deepak Arora
IATO President Vijay Thakur and NTA President Lisa Simon signed the MoU on behalf of their respective associations. The MoU is expected to strengthen the partnership between the two travel organisations that will help to facilitate business between their members. Addressing the large gathering, Simon said “India is a market with huge potential. The signing of the MoU begins a partnership between the two travel organisations that will help to facilitate business between the members of the two associations. Both IATO and NTA members service inbound and outbound travel and it will make this partnership broadly advantageous.”
“We are confident that this partnership will reap new business to and from India,” said Simon. She said NTA’s strategic partnerships have been developing a balance of business opportunities in the international marketplace. Since its founding in 1951, NTA has been strong on domestic (North American) travel. However, NTA tour operators also work the international inbound and outbound markets, and NTA’s membership does represent 40 countries. Simon said NTA can meet its members’ needs in these areas through partnerships and bring business to them that they would typically work years to garner and pay for dearly. Relationships with the Africa Travel Association, American Tourism Society, Indian Association of Tour Operators and Sister Cities International extend international business opportunities to NTA. Air India to bolster connectivity to North-East: Arvind JadhavBy Deepak Arora Speaking at the IATO annual convention here, the CMD said the airline was not taking this initiative as a mere directive from the government. The proposed improvement in connectivity to the region is now a part of Air India’s programme to provide better connectivity to Tier II cities. The programme is being worked out considering the needs of customers. Mr Jadhav said this will help provide national and international connectivity to the North-East region. “This expansion will be implemented with the assistance of the Union government, and the national carrier will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this connection.”
“There is a lot of movement between Guwahati and Bangkok,” he added. The programme was being worked taking into account the needs of the customer and requirement of aircraft. “This will not be a low fare model and is not being implemented for subsidy.” As part of this strategy, Air India will make Agartala as second hub in the North East after Guwahati. Though the content of this programme depends on the funding received by the Central government, he said that it was being viewed from a commercial point of view. Stating that a 20-seater aircraft would be viable for operations in the northeast, he said Air India now had 40-seater aircraft in its fleet. “Purchasing new 20-seater aircraft depends on the funding we get from the government. We are hopeful of getting 70 per cent load factor on these routes, which are now being worked out. In all, we expect to carry about 2,000 passengers daily,” he added. Air India designated as an official carrier for Commonwealth Games 2010
She said foreign athletes will now get to experience India’s rich culture onboard the Maharaja, which is the mascot of Air India. Being the official carrier for Commonwealth Games, the national carrier aims to serve most of the visiting guests during the event. Now, gay tourismBANGALURU: Keeping in pace with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court on Article 377, the delegates at the annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) discussed with open mind the benefits of promoting gay tourism. This goes well with the changing times and will be promoted like other theme holidays like heritage tourism, cultural tourism and medical tourism. “It is no different from other forms of tourism, they are specifically designed and tailor-made for gay men who are keen on spending quality time in comfortable places.” Indjapink Director Sanjay said, "This concept is still new to India unlike other countries. But after the recent Supreme Court hearing, people are gradually learning to accept them. There is great potential for gay tourism to grow. All gay men demand respect and space; we should understand the fact that what people do in their bedroom is strictly personal.'' Indjapink is the only Indian company organizing packages for gays since the past 11 months. Most gays tourists are from the US and Western Europe. Though considerable numbers of gays from India enquire about these tours, bookings are still limited. Experts also said that there are more such queries coming in from gays than lesbians in India. "A large number of gays travel to Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Himalayas and north eastern states. While very few come to Karnataka, there is huge potential in the state and we are keen on exploring its possibilities. Kerala is over-exploited and people are keen on visiting Coorg, Nagarhole tiger reserve, coastal areas and western Karnataka. The state tourism department should help promote these destinations,'' added Sanjay. While Sanjay said that they ensure a harassment free atmosphere for tourists, he admitted that gay men are often subjected to embarrassing situations. "For instance, a driver once told a gay couple that next time bring your wives to enjoy such picturesque destinations," he added. All set for IATO Convention at BangaluruBy Deepak Arora
IATO President Thakur said the slowdown has forced the trade partners to adopt long time strategy to mitigate the negative fall out and chart out ways and means in commensurate with IATO Objectives. Director, Karnataka Tourism, Vishwanath Reddy said “today Karnataka is among the top destinations in the country that are being considered for a holiday. After doing much ground work in terms of developing destinations and attracting new players into the industry over the years, this is a welcome opportunity for us to showcase the destination in a new light to the prime tourism consultants and opinion makers in the country.” He said “this will help us connect better with the consumer in times to come. We in Karnataka Tourism are grateful to IATO for having chosen Bangalore as the venue and we will see that this event is a success both for us as well as for the hundreds of tour operators who are going to be part of this meet.” Managing Director of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Vinay Luthra, said “apart of its on going effort to boost tourism within Karnataka, Karnataka Tourism took lot of domestic travel initiative. We have worked out packages with quality transportation at a value fare and consumer satisfaction remains our top priority. We have continuous efforts to enhance our product offering to make our customers experience more enjoyable.” Garuda to connect Delhi to Indonesia; boost tourismBy Deepak Arora
Speaking to newmen here, Gen Ghalib said Garuda also plans to sign interline agreements with Jet Airways and Air India and other international airlines to give better connectivity to tourists from India. "This will give a great boost to tourism, trade and economic ties between the two countries," added the Ambassador. Besides the Ambassador, representatives from the Indonesian Culture and Tourism Ministry addressed the media and spelled out plans to attract more tourists from India.
The Indonesian Ministry of culture together with Bali Government Tourism Office and Indonesian Tourism Industries had joined India sales mission to Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. Bali Tourism Office highlighted that they would like the Indian travel trade to come forward and join hands to offer exciting packages and holiday options for Indian tourists. Ambassador Ghalib said India is an extremely significant emerging market for Indonesia. The number of outbound tourists from India has been increasing year after year. He said 4.90 million Indians traveled overseas in 2002. In 2003 the number was 5.3 million. International trips made by Indian nationals in 2004 was 6.2 million,16% more than 2003. The number reached 7.2 million in 2005, and in 2006 it was 8.4 million (increase 16.1%). The development of Bali tourism since the 1970s has been improving. However, as everywhere else it has gone through ups and down. This is clearly indicated by the development of tourist direct arrivals to the island. Direct arrival is one of the most commonly used indicators to measure tourism development. Presently, there are tourists from 184 countries visiting Bali. Since the travel advisory was withdrawn by The Government of United State and Australia, we are confident that Bali is being looked at as a preferred destination by tourists across the globe. On this special occasion, the Government of Indonesia and the Balinese community would like to invite all Indians to come to Bali and experience what our country and island of Bali offers to the discerning international traveler. We hope that more and more tourists from India will visit Bali in the near future and experience the magic of this beautiful island and its people. Today we can boast of the best global brands being present in Indonesia. Bali offers a varied range of experience, from budget hotels to the most luxurious villas, attracting the honeymooners and travelers looking for a very private and exclusive holiday experience. We have large conference facilities to cater to the MICE segment and the same was exhibited at PATA and United Nations Conference on Climate changes hosting 1,400 and 12,000 persons successfully. The Balinese community and India have had a strong emotional relationship for many decades. There are many similarities between Bali and India. Ramayana and Mahabharata are two big epics which very much influence the way of life of the people in Bali and in India. Bali is a tiny island among more than seventeen thousand islands that make up Indonesian Archipelago. The total area of Bali is 5,632.86 square kilometers, or 0,29 of total area of Indonesia, while the population represents around 3,5 million people. Bali is located at an intersection between two big continents i.e. Asia and Australia. Although Bali is a tiny island, many kinds of flora and fauna are to be found here. Bali is located in an archipelago of great bio-diversity offering beautiful beaches, diving, water sports, adventure, art and culture. Balinese people hold their traditional values as very important and use them as guidelines for their behavior. The Balinese culture is influenced by the Hindu religion which consists of asset of concept that guides human behavior. Balinese life is inextricably woven with arts. They express most aspects of their life through arts (dance, drama, painting, crafting etc.) In Bali, dance is not merely a cliché. It is the main art form of Balinese culture, which has a strong relationship with religiosity of Balinese people, cherished and taught in the Villages halls, palaces and temples. Bali is known as one of the primary tourist destinations in the world for decades. Bali has been visited by foreign tourists for many years. The living culture, natural beauty and the warmth of Balinese people are very attractive for tourists who come to visit Bali. Every time one talks about tourism, either at the national or international level, Bali is always referred to. Tourism has been the locomotive of the development of the islands for decades. A study shows that 38% of job opportunities and 51% of people’s income are directly associated with tourism expenditure and tourism investment. And if the indirect impacts were included, these figures would definitely be much higher. It is not difficult to understand that tourism holds a significant role in development of Bali. Kazakhstan a tourists paradise: Kairbek
The Minister said that main purpose of tourism development in Kazakhstan is to put the country on the world map of popular tourist destinations, create modern efficient and competitive tourist complex. In 2008 tourism continued to develop despite the world economic crisis. In comparison with 2007, investments in tourism increased by 34% and amounted to about USD 1 billion. To ensure capacity building, Kazakhs students study tourism management and hotel management at the best universities of Russia, China, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and England under the presidential scholarship “Bolashak” (Future). The Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Ministry of Education and Science, Kokshetau State University, Eurasian National Gumilyov University and representatives of tourism and hotel business associations are working on establishing an international hospitality industry school in Schuchinsk-Borovoye resort area, Akmola region. The creation of such school is realized under the EU-funded TEMPUS project on creation of 4 hotel training schools. Speaking of Kazakhstan’s association with the World Tourism Organization, he said that Kazakhstan joined the UNWTO in 1993. In 2007 Astana city was selected to host the 18th session of the UNWTO General Assembly. According to the Vice Minister, this international event to be held on October 6-9, 2009 gives an opportunity to position the country as a new tourist destination and raise investment attractiveness of the domestic tourism industry development. About 900 delegates from 150 countries, including India, is expected to attend the chief tourism event. To prepare for the session, the Government of Kazakhstan established an interdepartmental organization committee chaired by Prime Minister Karim Massimov. The Ministry of Home Affairs is ready to ensure security of official delegations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would help ensure visa support for the guests. Because of unique nature, generous hospitality and welcoming attitude of the people, developed infrastructure, Kazakhstan is emerging as a tourism paradise. India, Malaysia to boost tourismNEW DELHI, Aug 17: India and Malaysia agreed to further strengthen travel between the two countries and explore mutual avenues for promotion of tourism products and investments in the hospitality sector. "We need to promote investment in both the countries. Malaysia has done very well in the service industry and India is emerging fast in the sector. We hope to gain from each other's experience," Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said. She was talking to reporters at New Delhi on Monday after meeting her Malaysian counterpart Ng Yen Yen. Selja said both the countries can explore opportunities like investing in convention centers and hotels. The Malaysian Tourism Minister invited Selja to visit that country and attract tourists to India, especially during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Yen during her stay in the country will also visit Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. India plans to sign an MoU with Malaysia for promotion of tourism industries in both countries. IATO Convention at Bangaluru to Manage the DownturnBy Deepak Arora
In the face of current economic recession, the theme of the Convention this year is aptly named “Tourism – Managing the Downturn”, said Mr Arun Anand, Convention Chairman.
Mr Reddy said “today Karnataka is among the top destinations in the country that are being considered for a holiday. After doing much ground work in terms of developing destinations and attracting new players into the industry over the years, this is a welcome opportunity for us to showcase the destination in a new light to the prime tourism consultants and opinion makers in the country.” He said “this will help us connect better with the consumer in times to come. We in Karnataka Tourism are grateful to IATO for having chosen Bangalore as the venue and we will see that this event is a success both for us as well as for the hundreds of tour operators who are going to be part of this meet.”
While extending welcome to the delegates Mr Vijay Thakur said “IATO Convention in Bangalore will provide our members a good opportunity to update on new products, facilities and thus promote Karnataka Packages with greater confidence.
“We will host a special session on Karnataka where Karnataka Tourism and Industry will present the various opportunities for tour operators that Karnataka offers. Investment opportunities will be focused. Members will find this session very useful. Karnataka Tourism Forum, Karnataka Chapter of Hotels and Restaurant Association, Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Bangalore International Airport, IATO Chapter, Karnataka all have formed a team to ensure smooth and successful conduct of the Convention, said Mr. Arun Anand, Convention Chairman. Air Astana to promote tourismNEW DELHI, July 29: In an effort to promote Almaty in Kazakhstan as a leisure destination in India, Air Astana’s India office will organise familiarisation (FAM) trips for the travel trade and media from India to Almaty in the coming months. This is the first time the airline is hosting a FAM trip for media to Kazakhstan’s second biggest city and commercial capital. The trip will be organised in association with the Kazakhstan Tourist Association (KTA), the national body of Kazakhstan for the promotion of tourism. Chander Mulchandani, Manager - Sales & Marketing, Air Astana in Delhi, informed that two FAMs will be organised separately. “The trade FAM is almost finalised and is scheduled for next month, while the media FAM will be held some time in November this year. Dates will be announced once we receive confirmation from the KTA office in Almaty,” he said. Air Astana is looking at hosting ten delegates as part of each FAM. “We want to take the percentage of leisure traffic from India to at least five to seven per cent in the next few years. Almaty is a small but beautiful city with a lot of history, scenic beauty, excellent night life, shopping malls etc. Moreover, it takes less than four hours by air from Delhi,” he added. Air Astana had organised two FAMs to Almaty, last year for the travel trade. Commenting on Air Astana’s business on the Delhi - Almaty route, Mulchandani said that the airline has been receiving an average of 65 to 70 per cent capacity on the route. He informed that the company is using the A320 aircraft on the route and is registering almost 93 per cent on-time schedule operations. MICE and Heli TourismNEW DELHI, July 27: In order to tap the potential of the tourism sector through new and innovative measures, Kumari Selja, Union Minister of Tourism has launched several initiatives. The new initiatives include promotion of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) and Heli Tourism. The Ministry will henceforth grant Central Financial Assistance for construction of one convention centre in each State/Union Territory under the scheme of Product/Infrastructure Development of Destinations and Circuits for promotion of MICE. The assistance will be provided upto Rs5 crore for each project on the basis of proposals received from the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations. The Ministry is also focusing on creating infrastructure that will add to experiential tourism like adventure sports, trekking etc. Some of the tourist destinations in hilly and remote areas also suffer from lack of connectivity. Accordingly, the Ministry has decided to grant Central Financial Assistance upto Rs. 75 lakh to States and Union Territories for construction of heliports. The proposals for setting up of heliports will be part of destination development projects. The heliports will thus open up several new destinations for tourism and also provide a unique experience of Heli Tourism to both foreign and domestic tourists. IATO to hold its 25th Annual Convention in BangaluruBy Deepak Arora
Speaking on the convention theme, IATO President Vijay Thakur said “it is an exciting and challenging time due to global economic meltdown and very aptly the convention theme has been chosen. The theme this year is “Tourism - Managing the Downturn”. He said "after three successive years boom time in tourism, we were thinking how to sustain the boom. But dramatically things changed since 26th November, 2008 and total slump in tourism followed from which we could not come out till date. The economic slowdown obviously had negative impact but 2010 Commonwealth games will be a catalyst for a boom in tourism sector.” While elaborating about the convention Mr. Arun Anand, who is this year’s Convention Chairman said “We are constantly in touch with tourism authorities in Bangaluru and the hotels & travel industry in Karnataka.” There is positive vibe in the market with IATO convention being held there in Bangaluru. We are talking about how best we can function as a team and come out successfully. Major discussions will be on convention theme and to workout strategies to turn this adversity into an opportunity and to open up new avenues. Mr Anand said the business sessions are being finalized. We want these sessions to be very interactive.Two sessions are more or less finalized. The first session is on Tourism potential of Karnataka- and investment opportunities and the other one “Destination South- How all Southern State can boost Regional Tourism with unique attractions”. There will be presentations by different States in course of business sessions like every year. All the State update our members about the new facilities including the niche products developed by them in the last one year. He said latest Global issues like Global warming, Terrorist threats & security arrangements, Human Resource Development & Tourism education are other topics that we want to discuss in our business sessions.
“We have invited senior professionals from the hotels, aviation and travel industry. We have also invited Union Minister of Tourism to be the Chief Guest. All senior officials of the Government of India Ministries are our invited guests. They will chair some sessions. From Karnataka, we would request Chief Minister to inaugurate the event and the Governor to give valedictory address. All these are being coordinated by us with the Karnataka State Government added, Mr. Lally Mathews. “Mr. K Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Govt. of Karnataka, Mr. K. Vishwanath Reddy, Commissioner of Tourism & Mr. Vinay Luthra, Managing Director (KTDC) and full team of Karnataka travel industry are coordinating with us for the success of this Convention.
IATO still hopes Budget would bring relief to TourismBy Deepak Arora
“None of our recommendations got a place in the budget still we are optimistic to get something as budget, is in decision stage. We will continue with our efforts with the guidance from Ministry of Tourism,” said Mr Vijay Thakur, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). He said the presentation of the Budget 2009 was really a challenging for the Finance Minister. “Every sector was optimistic of getting some big tax incentive. For tourism we too had big hopes. But once again tourism is not mentioned any where.” However, Mr Thakur welcomed the fact that no new tax has been imposed on the tourism sector. In fact, he said “we feel some relief with the withdrawal of the Fringe Benefit tax.” The IATO President said “Adventure tourism will off course get a boost with customs duty being fully exempted on flatable rafts, snow skies, water skies, surf boats and other water sports equipments.” He said abolition of surcharge on personal income tax also make lot of difference. Thus, in general, Mr Thakur said “we are quite happy with the budget.” “This will help investment in tourist vehicles, equipments for camping and developing tourism in rural India which will create new jobs help locals to be employed more than 120 days. This way tourism can divert revenue from developed area to underdeveloped area,” added Mr. Thakur. Budget disappoints HRANI
Despite being the largest employment generator and second-largest forex-earner, he said the sector has been fully ignored in the budget. It’s also surprising that the government is not recognizing its true potential which contributes to the national economy at large. Mr Pande said “if we are to promote India as a global tourism destinations, the government must realize the need of support to the industry." IATO urges Pranab to extend Export Industry status to TourismBy Deepak Arora
Speaking to this correspondent, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) President Vijay Thakur said the Indian tourism industry has suffered a lot due to downslide of US Dollar during the last year as it affected the Indian tour packages and made our products costlier for the overseas tour operators. Thakur said though service providers in tourism sector are the deemed exporters as per the foreign trade policy but they are not being treated at par with other exporters. Tourism is today one the major sector earning foreign exchange and generating million of jobs for the country. In spite of the fact that India is today one of the most attractive destination in the world, we are still struggling hard to get our rightful share in the world market. This is due to our products being costlier compared to our neighbouring countries and other South Asian countries i.e. Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Sri Lanka. In a separate letters to the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Tourism Minister Kumari Selja, IATO has sought revival of Section 80 HHD of income tax act 1961 under which tour operators and travel agents be allowed to transfer part of their profit to Tourism Development Reserves for investment in tourism related projects like hotels, resorts, convention centres, restaurants and guest houses and import of vehicles and adventure, sports & camping equipments such as tents and rafts. This will help in creating better infrastructure for the tourism industry, and create millions of new jobs in remote areas, said Vijay Thakur.
Thakur pointed out that tourism is the most sensitive business and is the most affected industry - be it change in economy or terrorist attacks or natural calamities. Due to economy meltdown and last November’s Mumbai terror attacks have seriously affected the tourism industry and we have already lost about 20 to 25 per cent business. The coming months are not too good as members have received cancellations of about 60 per cent and there is no new business coming in. The IATO President also urged the Finance Minister to treat telephone, transport and advertisement expenses as operational expenses and to do not charge fringe benefit tax on these expenses from the tour operators and travel agents. He also called for reduction in ATF prices by bringing down the custom duty to bring down airfares and make tourist packages more competitive. We recommend that ATF should be declared as “Declared Goods” by the Central Government and a uniform 4 per cent Sales Tax on ATF be levied by all the States Governments. The IATO President also urged the Finance Minister to do away with the high fuel surcharge as it adds to the burden on tourists traveling by air. Thakur also urged the Finance Minister to bring tourism on the Priority List and increase the Plan Outlay for the Ministry to Rs 2,000 crore for the promotion of tourism sector through aggressive marketing and Incredible India campaign. Tourism industry hails Rail BudgetNEW DELHI, July 3: The tourism industry has welcomed Mamata Banerjee Railway Budget for 2009-10 that has taken several new initiatives like introduction of non-stop trains, point-to-point intercity trains, model stations and better food and other amenities in the trains. Welcoming the initative, Rakesh Lamba, President, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI), said “This will enhance domestic travel and boost Rail Tourism. Though people will start comparing air fare and rail fare, the non-stop intercity trains will help people to save time and hence board these trains and go for an overnight journey.” Arup Sen, Executive Director, Cox & Kings India Ltd, said “faster mobility plays an important role in promoting tourism and introduction of 12 point-to-point trains will definitely help. Tourism is all about faster and efficient movement of people. This will help domestic and budget tourism in a big way. We will create and sell packages that will cater to this market.”
However, S K Khullar, President, Hotel & Restaurant Associations of Eastern India opined, “No doubt point-to-point service will save lot of time but the Ministry has to make sure that there is traffic between the two locations and how economical will that be. To start with, the Ministry could have started with metros and at a later stage introduced such trains to other cities.” Rajindera Kumar, Vice President, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India, said, “The Railway Minister needs to work on something which she does not have to look back on later. The ideas are noble but to implement them needs support and cooperation from the government. What about the stations which fall in between the select locations. Also the time to cover the route and fares are not defined. Hence, these aspects will play an important role in the long run. Instead the Minister should have looked upon the weak points in the Railways and tried to improve them. Since infrastructure and connectivity are still big problems in major stations.” Gopi Iengar, Executive Director, Rail Europe India Pvt. Ltd. stated, “At the moment there is no clarity on how the point to point trains will operate. If it is only point-to-point with no stops, it is a difficult proposition to fill up the inventory as there will be a percentage of passengers who would want to travel to other stations. Strategic stops on the route will definitely help, however it is a wait and watch scenario right now.” Thai Govt extends visa fee waiving to one yearBy Deepak Arora BANGKOK, July 2: Continuing its efforts to expedite the revival of the Thai travel and tourism industry, the Royal Thai Government has agreed to extend the exemption of the visa fee for tourist visa applications until March 4, 2010. The exemption will apply to all applicants for visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible. Thailand presently gives a Visa on Arrival for citizens of 20 countries for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days. Those who wish to stay longer than those periods have to apply for visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in Thailand. The extension is one of several measures taken by the Thai tourism industry to revive itself in the wake of a number of global and local events that have led to a temporary decline in visitor arrivals. According to TAT Chairman, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, “As a result of the global economic downturn, the worldwide travel and tourism sector has declined as people have become more cautious about spending on leisure and business travel. Hence, the government has implemented many measures to enhance Thailand’s competitive advantage and strengthen our country’s unique qualities.” Other recent measures include a reduction of landing charges for aircraft and reduced entry fees for national parks. On 1 June, the “Package Tour for Transfer Passengers” initiative was introduced. Transfer passengers making a stopover of 6 to 12 hours at Suvarnabhumi International Airport can take short tours of Bangkok and the surrounding area. In order to tap the weekend break for short-haul countries, TAT has also introduced 72-hours travel programme guide book to several provinces including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya. The most recent programme guide book in the series is 72 hours in Hua Hin. In 2008, Thailand welcomed around 14.59 million international visitors, a growth of only 0.88 per cent. IATO Team calls on Tourism Minister SeljaBy Deepak Arora
This assurance was given to the Minister when the IATO Executive Committee Members, led by its President Vijay Thakur, called on Kumari Selja at her chamber to welcome her on taking over as the Union Tourism Minister. The opportunity was also taken to brief the Minister on the Budget recommendations which IATO made to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and sought her assistance to raise IATO’s recommending to the Finance Ministry through her direct links with Ministry of Finance and other senior decision makers in the Cabinet. IATO Executive Director Gour Kanjilal said the members sought her help in getting Export Industry Status to tourism that would solve the problem of service tax and revival of Section 80 HHD of income tax act 1961. Kumar Selja gave patient hearing and has assured to move IATO request to the Finance Minister. She also expressed her happiness about the higher responsibilities which IATO have taken for boosting tourism through road shows, training programmes for improving the service quality for IATO members, strong Public-Private partnership formed by IATO with Ministry of Tourism to promote Visit India Year 2009 and diversifying tourism products in a manner to create more jobs in the rural areas. She also praised the social responsibility taken by IATO at the time of national crisis and thus creating the real value of tourism in the minds of general public. The IATO President took the opportunity to invite her in person to join IATO Annual Convention. She has assured that she will be pleased to be present at IATO Convention. Tourism can only help create jobs, eradicate poverty: Subhash GoyalBy Deepak Arora
He said the mandate of the UPA Government is to eradicate poverty to help poorest of the poor and create jobs. How can they do this? There is no magic wand. They had another solution Jawahar Rozgar Yojna, poverty elevation programmes in which there are to distribute thousands of crores to the poor people. That did not happen. Rahul Gandhi rightly pointed out that the pipeline through which money reaches poor is leaking. So what is the solution? he asks and adds the solution is to encourage industries which are labour intensive. Earlier, Agriculture used to be labour intensive. But due to mechanization, there are no jobs. In fact, there is migration to the cities, which are turning into slums. The Government has no other alternative. If the UPA government is honest and truly wants to eradicate poverty, the cheapest and fastest way is tourism for simple reason that tourism is highly labour intensive. One out of nine jobs that will be created in the next 10 years will be in this industry. In fact, in India and South East Asia, a new job will be created every 2.5 seconds. On top of that it has a shortest gestation period. Goyal said it spreads prosperity and creates jobs in the remotest villages of the country. For example, the camel drivers and nomads living in the desserts of Bikaner and Jaisalmer were earlier starving and its only because of tourism that today there are not only gainfully employed in various motels, camping safaris, parks and cultural villages that have sprung up to cater to tourists, but you can see some camel drivers wearing colorful nice clothes, silver and gold ornaments and singing fold songs with cans of mineral water. Similar scenes can be seen amongst the poorest fishermen in the backwaters of Kerala, the remote hills of North East and Leh, Himachal Pradesh et al. The Government of India gave a long tax holiday to software industry and look at the revolution that software industry has created. Goyal said if this government gives 5-year tax holiday to the tourism industry and reintroduces 80 HHD so that we can plough back 50 per cent profit in developing tourism infrastructure, it will revolutionize the country’s economy. He said the government must also give total exemption under 80 HHC on the foreign exchange earned to the travel and tour industry. The Government, very rightfully to boost Indian exports, exempted exporters based on their Foreign Exchange earnings from service tax. We fail to understand why the tour operators, whose Foreign Exchange earnings are recognized by the Commerce Ministry as deemed export are not given the same benefits as the other exporters. Why are we in the tourism industry being discriminated against? The current economic crisis and the flight of Foreign Direct Investment from India has proved beyond any doubt that the only Foreign Exchange that is sustainable and which can create jobs and development in the country is the Foreign Exchange earned and investment made by exporters. In fact, he said compared to exporters, the tourism industry earns much more foreign exchange in real terms. In the case of gems and jewelerry if we earn US $ 1,000 we spend about US $ 900 on the import of gold, diamonds and precious stones from all over the world. In tourism, if we earn $ 1,000, as much as $ 900 are spent within the country and only $ 50 or $ 100 are spent on expenses in marketing etc. So the net benefit to the country from foreign exchange earning is from tourism, he added. The multiplier effect on the development of infrastructure and dependent industries like transport, aviation, shipping, hotels, cargo, horticulture, poultry, farming, furniture, textiles, steel, cement, electronic equipment, computers and development of all cultures, handicraft and cuisine for entertainment of tourists gives this industry the top most position in the economy. The countries like Singapore, Dubai, China, Malaysia, Thailand, France, Spain, Germany, the UK, the USA and the Caribbean island, who have realized the huge potential of this industry, have really developed their economy by focusing on the tourism development. In view of the above, if the UPA government and the Finance Minister wants to kickstart the economy and use the recession as a stimulus for generating 8 to 9 per cent growth again, Goyal said they have no other choice but to exempt this industry from the huge tax burden which is killing goose that can lay golden eggs and change the face of the nation. Increased budget for tourism in Thailand fails to reassure tourism professionalsBy Deepak Arora BANGKOK, June 19: While designating tourism as a national priority, Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajjiva has announced his administration will provide up to 55 percent of the new stimulus package to revive tourism. This translates to a 71.5 million additional financial allocation. The tourism sector is currently facing a serious downturn due to a combination of unfavorable factors such as the worldwide economic recession, internal political instability and more recently the H1N1 flu outbreak. The latter event starts also to take its toll on Asian travel intentions with Thailand recording over 500 cases of swine flu as of June 18. However, the financial shot into Thailand’s ailing tourism is far of generating enthusiasm from travel professionals. According to the Nation newspaper, three associations--the Association of Domestic Travel (ADT), the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance and the Thai-Japan Tourist Association--have complained at the House committee on tourism about the lack of funds being made available to fight the downturn. TAT recently launched a new marketing strategy that looks more at tourists’ travel intention rather than geographical segmentation. - “Ready to Travel” Markets include countries such as India, Russia, Indonesia as well as the Gulf area and Scandinavia. These markets are not sensitive to the Kingdom’s political situation, still have considerable purchasing power, and are inclined to travel. - “Potentially Returning Visitor” Markets, which covers most of Europe and the United States. People in these markets are inclined to visit Thailand but are more concerned about the political situation. They are also more affected by the global economic downturn and are becoming more value-conscious. - “Concerned Traveler” Markets include China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia. Despite their close proximity, these markets are far more worried about the Thailand’s political situation and are currently affected by the economic slowdown. People in these markets still consider Thailand a convenient tourist destination but have some reservations about returning. - The most difficult to target are the “Highly Sensitive Traveler” Markets, which include three of the tops Thailand incoming visitors sources: Japan, Korea and Taiwan. People there are extremely sensitive to Thailand’s political instability. They also suffer from a biting recession. According to Rerngronasa, Thailand will work out customized campaigns on a segment-to-segment basis. “It will be pointless to launch a big consumers’ campaign to “Highly Sensitive Travelers” and some “Concerned Travelers” markets. We will instead focus more on PR, Media activities or targeting niche markets such as young people or golfers,” the deputy governor said. Greater marketing activities with additional budget resources are however forecast for countries where the opinion is more favorable to travel to Thailand. “We look also to intensify online marketing for all markets around the world, especially to promote our good value for money through ‘Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value’ campaign,” said Rerngronasa. Arrivals already decreased by 19 percent for the first three months of the year forcing the Tourism Authority of Thailand to look back at its 2009 forecasts (latest estimations put at 12 million the number of tourists for this year). Rerngronasa, however, remains confident about medium term perspectives. “We are still perceived as a very welcoming country offering excellent value for money and with a population keen to welcome all visitors. Infra development, jobs top Selja's tourism prioritiesBy Deepak Arora
Top officials from associations like TAAI, TAFI, IATO, FHRAI and HAI attended the meeting. Among the areas that will be high on her agenda are various developmental and promotional issue like subsidy for the trade and state governments for participation in international travel fairs and exhibitions and incentivising travel under the Visit India 2009 campaign. The minister is likely to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee next week with representatives from the tourism industry on longstanding demands like rationalisation of luxury tax, road tax and service tax. “It was a good beginning. Issues like single window clearance, rationalisation of taxes, Service Tax and Heritage Tourism were raised at the meeting by the industry associations. She also plans to meet state tourism and transport ministers to address inter-state issues and offer seamless travel for tourists. Extend five-year tax holiday scheme to 5 star hotels: AssochamBy Deepak Arora NEW DELHI, June 16: With just 16 months left for the Commonwealth Games industry chamber Assocham has sought extension of the five-year tax holiday scheme to five star hotels in the national capital region and infrastructure status for the sector in the Union Budget. The chamber also said that the hotel industry should be exempted from tax on services received outside the country. It said the tax holiday scheme of five years, announced in the Union Budget of 2007-08 for two star, three star and four star hotels besides convention centres in NCR should also be extended to five star hotels. "This facility needs to be extended to all categories of hotels including five star hotels so that their capacity expansion takes place at desired speed to accommodate large number of travellers to India during the games," Assocham said. Further, it said to accelerate the pace of construction of more hotels, the hotel industry should be accorded an infrastructure status so that it can enjoy fiscal benefits. Assocham's demand came as some of the leading hoteliers are looking for ideal sites in Delhi and the NCR region for establishing their chains to strengthen hospitality industry. In the NCR alone, around 27 new hotels are coming up with about 4,900 rooms in various categories over the next three to four years the chamber said. Groups like Radisson have already set up its hotel in Noida and other players like J P Group, Inter-continental, Clark Group and Chatwal Group are also planning to build 250-300 rooms hotel in the NCR area, Assocham said. Besides, there are already 70 new hotel projects that are under various stages of development to add 19,000 rooms in the next two years, it said. The chamber has recommended to the Delhi Government that it should persuade the Finance Ministry to announce extension of 5 years holiday scheme so that hotels get tax benefits and are incentivised to execute their expansion plans. "The chamber has forwarded the same proposal to the Ministry of Finance demanding that infrastructure status for hotel industry should not be delayed since the industry is highly capital-intensive and has very long period of return on investment," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. Assocham also said tax on services received by hotels outside India like commission paid to foreign travel agents be exempted. Selja postpones Australian visit
"I am not going to Australia for the tourism promotional event scheduled in July," said the Minister. The Tourism Ministry had planned a series of promotional programmes in Australian cities in July to showcase India as an attractive adventure tourism destination. "The prevailing atmosphere is not conducive for such promotional event and the ministry will work out a new schedule after the situation improves," she said. The Ministry has already carried out a series of roadshows in collaboration with Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) in 22 cities across the globe including Melbourne, Singapore, London, Dubai, Beijing, Tokyo and New York. The proposed programme was specifically meant to focus on adventure tourism destinations in India. "The ministry had finalised a package offering trekking, river rafting and mountaineering to attract Australians as part of adventure tourism destinations in India," said a senior Tourism Ministry official. PHD Tourism Expo to put Himachal on world tourism mapBy Deepak Arora NEW DELHI, June 8: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism Kumari Selja are expected to attend the four-day tourism and travel expo at Shimla from June 12 that will place Himachal more prominently on the world tourism map. Himachal Government is organizing the tourism expo “Destination Himachal: Shimla Mega Mart” and a Conclave on “Unforgettable Himachal: Opportunities Unlimited” in partnership with PHD Chamber. More than two lakh tourists and business visitors are expected to visit the mega mart.
Ambassadors of Indonesia, Brunei and other diplomats are also attending the event. At the two-day conclave, eminent tourism experts shall deliberate on strategies for placing the State more prominently on the world tourism map. In fact seeing the huge response in other States, PHD Expos have become an annual event in some cities. These events provide a unique opportunity for promoting state tourism & business for all stakeholders in the tourism industry. Other participant’s who will exhibit/sell their products/services in the International Expo include various State and Foreign Tourism Boards, tour operators, local entrepreneurs and State PSUs, FMCG Companies, artisans, Corporate supplying products/services to tourism and hotel industry, educational institutes, travel portals, telecom service providers , tourist transporters , Airlines and Heli Service Providers, DTH Service Providers , Travel Insurance Companies and Banks. Tourism Authority of Thailand chairman expects tourism to grow again by the end of the yearBy Deepak Arora BANGKOK, May 29: Chairman of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Weerasak Kowsurat, has said that Thailand will stimulate tourism in the most efficient way. He hoped that tourism is expected to grow by the end of the year. Weerasak Kowsurat, who is also a former Thai Tourism Minister, said that TAT has conducted a survey on travelers’ trends in 20 major markets and we plan to share the results with hoteliers, amusement parks owners, airlines and many other players in the tourism. And we will look together to identify new ways to promote Thailand more efficiently. Niche markets such as Golfing or Muslim tourism or example are very much targeted. On how Thai tourism is doing so far, he said it is fair to say that we all expect now tourism will contract by 10 percent to 20 percent. However, I expect tourism to grow again by the end of the year. It is surprising to see that many markets are quite resilient and did not seem to [have] been affected by [the] April events, which is, in fact, the low season for many of our major markets, such as Europe. The best performing markets remain this year the Middle East, most ASEAN countries, India, Iran, Australia, Scandinavia, Ukraine and Russia. The most affected are definitely China and Japan. On the new campaigns, he said, we have received the first part of a package of Bht 1.45 billion (US$ 40.7 million). With this money, we keep covering all markets around the world including in the countries where we experience a sharp decline in arrivals. North Asia receives then almost a third of our entire marketing budget, Southeast Asia and the Pacific as well as Europe approximately a quarter of it and a fifth goes to the Americas. We’re also looking to promote increasingly our country to Muslim communities and countries and encourage the industry to be more Muslim-friendly by proposing, for example, more halal products. Responding to a question on as to what measures Thailand is taking to assure that tourists are well protected during their visits, Kowsurat said the cabinet has agreed in principle to cover all international visitors for free in case of security issues, delays, etc. We now wait for the decision of the Ministry of Finance for its full application. It will be valid until the end of the Thai fiscal year, up to October 1st. What are the other measures to support tourism? Are there any discounts for airlines or loans for hotels to withstand the crisis? India issues travel alert to Mexico, US, NZ, FranceNEW DELHI, April 27: India issued a swine flu advisory today and asked all travelers coming to India from the Swine flu-affected countries of Mexico, US, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, France and the UK to report symptoms of cough, cold and fever to airport health authorities. The preparations are expected to be in place within two days, with plans to track and check for flu symptoms even those passengers who have travelled to India from the affected countries over the past 10 days. The government, however, has placed no restrictions on eating pork or testing pigs for the virus. “Only people traveling from affected countries will be asked to voluntarily report symptoms of flu like a fever, cough and cold in a form given to them. Unlike bird flu (H5N1) that spread across borders through migratory birds, the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu poses no threat to pigs here. As of today, no pig is carrying the infection in India,” said Vineet Chawdhury, joint secretary, ministry of health. Swine flu (H1N1) is a respiratory disease that usually affects pigs but has now causing human infection because of a new "reassortant" strain formed by the mixing of genes from human and animal flu viruses. It is spreading through direct contact with infected pigs and in some cases, from human-to-human contact trhrough coughing, sneezing, or touching infected surfaces and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. Symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The current outbreak has affected 1614 people in Mexico, including 103. No death, however, has been reported outside Mexico, with only mild symptoms being reported in other countries, including the 20 cases in the US. Additional doctors will assist airport health authorities to screen passengers entering India from nine international airports and ports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur and Hyderabad. “Busy airports such as Delhi and Mumbai that get more flights from the affected countries will get more health officers, while the others will also get support. We’ll have 32 doctors spread over four shifts in a day but the numbers in others are still being finalized,” said Chawdhury. “There is no need to panic. The anti-flu drug oseltamivir is very effective against the H1N1 virus. Since this drug is also used against bird flu, India has a stockpile of 1 million doses of oseltamivir, which is also being manufactured by in India by Cipla and Hetero drugs,” said Dr Shiv Lal, director general, national institute of communicable diseases (NICD). Along with the Pune-based National Institute of Virology, the NICD is one of the two centres identified to confirm suspected cases of swine flu. “We can confirm a case within 24-48 hours of the sample reaching us. Will then, the suspected case will be in quarantine,” said Dr Lal. The decisions were taken today by India’s joint monitoring group – with representatives from the World Health organization and the ministries of Health, environment and Animal Husbandry – that met following the WHO’s designating the current outbreak in Mexico as a public health emergency. France still Numero Uno tourist destinationBy Deepak Arora PARIS, April 6: The number of foreign tourists coming to France declined last year, but it retained its position as the number-one destination for international visitors, the government said Monday. But according to tourism secretary of state Herve Novelli: "France is still the world's first (tourist) destination." The number of visitors from elsewhere in Europe fell 4.0 percent while those from Japan and North America were down 16 and 2.0 percent respectively, government figures showed. Novelli said that while tourists in transit who passed through France en route to a destination elsewhere were fewer in 2008, the number of those who stayed in the country was roughly the same as in the previous year: 68 million. The government on Tuesday is to present the French Senate with legislation designed to modernise the tourism sector and to make it more competitive. Under the proposal, hotels would be re-classified and a fifth star would be assigned, bringing France into conformity with international practice. |
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LONDON, Nov 10: Mumbai terror attack on November last year, subsequent Swine flu scare and global recession has lead to a decline in tourists visiting India, Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja has said. 
NEW DELHI, Oct 24: A leading aviation professional, Rajan Mehra, has bagged the "most versatile aviation professional of the decade" award. The award was handed out by India’s Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmad at a function here.
The event was host to top government officials from the ministry of civil aviation and Tourism. The event also saw the presence of the who's who of the Travel, Tourism and Aviation Industry as also diplomatic missions and Delhi's top socialites.
BANGALURU, Sept 5: Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj kept his date with the 25th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) being held in the IT capital of the country. Addressing the largest gathering of the delegates, Mr Bhardwaj said that tour operators should always remember that tourism not only generates revenue but also earns goodwill. 
He shared his experiences of touring Europe and Karnataka. "Among Karnataka Tourism, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation and Jungle Lodges and Resorts, interesting properties and facilities have been established across all major destinations." 
The Governor also gave valuable inputs and suggestions to look into issues such as quality of food being offered to tourists. "We must offer high quality food to travellers like they do in Europe. There are many things in which we can do better." 
Karnataka Tourism tied up with a host of industry players such as Karnataka Tourism Forum, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India, Karnataka Pradesh Hotels and Restaurants Association, Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Institute of Hotel Management, Karnataka chapter of IATO and Bengaluru International Airport. 
BANGALURU, Sept 3: IATO President Vijay Thakur has said that travel and tourism industry was showing signs of recovery and the Government must come forward to give a boost to the industry.
The IATO President said record registration of 1,153 delegates for the Bangaluru convention negated the reports about economic slowdown. He expressed confidence that the country would be able to meet the target of 10 billion tourists by 2012.
A highlight of the inaugural ceremony was signing of an MoU between National Tour Association of Kentucky, USA and IATO. NTA President Lisa Simon and IATO President Vijay Thakur signed the MOU.
BANGALURE, Sept 3: In a bid to augment both inbound and outbound tourism between India and the US, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and National Tour Association (NTA) of the USA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here on the opening day of the three-day annual convention of the IATO.
She added that the IATO members have shown interest in building relationships with NTA members. Like NTA’s tour operator members, they service various markets, groups and FITs and offer both traditional Indian and customised itineraries. 
BANGALURU, Sept 4: As part of its strategy to provide better connectivity to Tier II cities, Air India (AI) is planning to strengthen its network in the north-east region. Air India plans to increase the number of weekly flights from the present 65 to around 1,000 over the next three years, according to Arvind Jadhav, Chairman and Managing Director of the airline. 
It will entail connecting Guwahati to Bangkok, intra-connectivity in the northeast, connecting northeast with the rest of the centers in India with the introduction of daily return flight and plans to shift aircraft to Guwahati and Agartala stations. 
BANGALURU, Sept 4: Air India has been designated as the official carrier for Commonwealth Games 2010, according to Rohita Jaidka, Executive Director marketing (India region). 
NEW DELHI, Sept 2: All is set for the IATO's annual convention that begins at Lalit Ashok Bangaluru from September 3. IATO President Vijay Thakur said the sivler jubilee convention would discuss the theme “Tourism – Managing the Downturn”.
NEW DELHI, Aug 27: Indonesian Ambassador Lt. General (Retd) Andi M Ghalib has said the country's national carrier, Garuda, plans to commence direct flights to India next year. 
Beautiful dances from Bali enthralled all present on the occasion, giving them a glimpse of the Balinese culture. Through this sales mission, Indonesia aims to build a closer and stronger relationship with the Indian partners, making it more favorable and mutually beneficial.
ASTANA, Aug 21: Kazakhstan has a big potential for making tourism a high-yield economy sector. Our country is popular with its unique landscapes which can attract tourists from different countries, according to Kazakhstan Vice Minister of Tourism and Sport Kairbek Uskenbayev.
NEW DELHI, Aug 1: IATO is holding its 25th annual convention at Lalit Ashok Bangaluru from September 3. IATO’s Annual Convention always serve as an interactive platform for the members of travel and tourism industry where they meet and discuss the changing consumer needs and look into the present industry issues and innovative solutions.
Speaking at a meeting, which was attended by Mr. K. Vishwanath Reddy, Director (Karnataka Tourism) and Mr. Vinay Luthra, Managing Director, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, IATO President Thakur said the slowdown has forced the trade partners to adopt long time strategy to mitigate the negative fall out and chart out ways and means in commensurate with IATO Objectives.
Speaking at the meeting here, Mr Vishwanath Reddy said “the IATO Convention is coming to Bangalore and Karnataka Tourism sees this opportunity to showcase the vast improvements that have helped to the state in terms of destinations, facility and tourism infrastructure.”
Managing Director of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, Mr. Vinay Luthra, said “apart of its on going effort to boost tourism within Karnataka, Karnataka Tourism took lot of domestic travel initiative. We have worked out packages with quality transportation at a value fare and consumer satisfaction remains our top priority. We have continuous efforts to enhance our product offering to make our customers experience more enjoyable.”
He said "tThe State Tourism Department with Karnataka Tourism Forum has drawn out special Post Convention Tours which provide excellent experience on the special tourism products and members must take advantage of this offer.” 
“In addition, like every year, we will be organizing the INDIA TRAVEL MART at the Convention Venue where our members will be able to showcase their products. This year the last day of the mart will be kept open for general public so that local people can also take the advantage of IATO’s presence in Bangaluru. This help in creating positive awareness about tourism in public mind,” informed Mr. Lally Mathews who is the Co- Chairman of the convention.
Hotel The Lalit Ashok is going to be, the Convention Hotel where all the business sessions will be held including the India Travel Mart. So time has come for all of us to get serious about convention work. We are looking for sponsors. Madhya Pradesh (Tourism) has come forward to be the platinum sponsor. Nodoubt Karnataka is the host state. We are keeping our fingers crossed, we can only hope for the best & do our best” said Mr. Pronab Sarkar, Honorary Secretary, IATO.
NEW DELHI, July 9: Mr Vijai Pande, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Northern India, expressed his disappointment over the Union Budget.
IATO Joint Secretary Rajesh Mudgil demanded abolition of service tax on the foreign exchange earning on the basis of exemption being given to the exporters. IATO has also sought abatement of 90 per cent on the package tours which is presently 75 per cent. 
NEW DELHI, June 23: Assuring full cooperation to the new Union Tourism Minister Kumar Selja, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has assured her that it will cooperate in achieving her targeted enhanced tourist arrivals to India and through tourism combat poverty alleviation and create more jobs and bring quality life among people in distant rural locations where job prospects are limited. 
NEW DELHI, June 20: Subhash Goyal, a leading light of the tourism industry and President of the ASSOCHAN Tourism Committee, has said that the UPA Government must give tax and other incentives to the tourism industry that will help in creation of thousand of jobs and eradication of poverty.
NEW DELHI, June 17: Reeling under the impact of the economic slowdown and low foreign tourist arrivals, Union tourism minister Kumari Selja has said that she would prioritise infrastructure development and creation of employment opportunities. The minister met stakeholders from the tourism industry on Wednesday.
Himachal Chief Minister P K Dhumal is personally giving a lot of attention to make this major event a grand success.Aviation
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