Inaugurated by Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Kerala, the inauguration was attended by K V Thomas, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Consumer Affair; K C Venugopal, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation; A P Anil Kumar, Tourism Minister of Kerala, Usha Sharma, Additional Director General, Union Ministry of Tourism; Vijayan Thomas, Chairman, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation; Suman Billa, Secretary, Kerala Tourism; and S Harikishore Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, officer bearers of IATO and who’s who of the Indian tourism industry. Apart from these, the convention also saw the participation of over 1,400 delegates and special invitee. The theme of the convention was ‘Tourism – Innovations & Partnerships’.
Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Chandy said that tourism is an important segment in Kerala and contributes to the state’s GDP, generates employment and alleviates poverty. He informed that the Kerala government declared tourism as an industry in 1986 and since then has implemented various strategies to improve tourism through the Public-Private Partnership model. He urged that stakeholders in the sector must strive to enhance the quality of visitor experience.
“We must keep novel ways to keep the tourists interest alive and make them visit a destination again and again. Our vision is that tourism should become vibrant and significant contributor to the development of the state. For this, the quality of human resources must improve, while focus on eco-tourism will ensure sustainable growth in the sector. We are working on developing Kerala tourism as global brand in the domestic and international market,” he said, and added that state tourism industry is open for the investment priority would be given to small and medium investments. He was of the opinion that the recent visa-on-arrival facility launched at Trivandrum and Kochi airports will draw more overseas tourists to Kerala.
Delivering the presidential address, Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, said that the only silver lining during the ongoing financial crisis can come tourism. “Tourism is the only industry which can solve the economic problems of the country. Tourism alone can solve India’s problems of foreign exchange, balance of payments, current account deficit, employment and poverty. To achieve this, the Centre and the states need to slash down service taxes and offer income tax exemption to the tourism industry,” Goyal said, and added that foreign direct investment (FDI) can at best be a short-term measure to boost the economy, while tourism can solve India’s balance of payments crisis and generate employment on a massive scale.
“Foreign direct investors often withdraw a large share of their funds from India. This is not the case with stakeholders in the tourism sector whose major chunk of investment remains within the country. Inbound tourism can arrest and reverse the current trend of dipping forex reserves,” Goyal said while citing that gems and jewelry and carper industry spends 90 per cent and 60 per cent of forex on importing raw material.
Talking about the current economic scenario, the President said that the industry had expected to register 20 per cent growth last season but had to reckon with a five per cent growth. “The devaluation of the rupee has made India a cheaper destination. But high taxation often offsets this advantage. The government must announce a five-year service-tax exemption so that there is more investment and job creation in the sector.” Goyal appreciated the Ministry of Tourism’s Clean India Campaign and said that the IATO supports it. He requested governments to improve approach roads connecting tourism destinations in India. “If all this is done, within the next two years, the travel and tourism industry in India and Kerala will grow at the pace of 22 to 35 per cent,” he added.
Usha Sharma spoke in great length about the various initiatives taken by the Union Ministry of Tourism to promote tourism. She said that the ministry is focused on safety, cleanliness, infrastructure development and global publicity. A P Anil Kumar said that tourism in the state is making a steady progress. “Over 2 crore tourists frequent the state every year. This generates an income of Rs 40,000 crore every year. The state government is now planning various strategies for tourism in the state. I am sure that these initiatives will support Kerala tourism to improve further ,” he revealed.
Thomas lauded the role of private sector in developing tourism industry in the state and said that the Central and state governments should take a rational approach to the travel and tourism industry. Venugopal urged IATO to take the challenge of identifying new destinations in Kerala and India and promote them along with traditional destinations.
Arun Anand, Chairman, IATO Convention 2013, said that Kerala is one among top five destinations in the country. The Valedictory session was attended by G A Mir, Tourism Minister, J&K who urged IATO to organise their next Convention in J&K.
Business Session I : Government and the Tourism Partnership
Moderated by Navin Berry, Editor, Cross Section Media; the session had renowned speakers like Suman Billa; T Balakrishnan, Managing Director, Infrastructure Kerala; Vipul Mittra, Secretary, Tourism, Civil Aviation and Pilgrimage, Government of Gujarat; Ashwani Lohani, Divisional Manager-Delhi, Indian Railways; Najeeb; Jose Dominic, Managing Director, CGH Hotels; and Subhash Goyal.
Mittra outlined the initiatives taken by Gujarat Tourism in tourism promotion and said that there are three key factors in successful partnerships—policy, infrastructure and promotion. He opined that public and private sector should have clearly defined role for tourism sector. He emphasised that marketing is equally important as infrastructure development and informed that appointment of Amitabh Bachchan brought 85 lakh additional tourists to Gujarat.
Balakrishnan opined that the industry should involve non-governmental agencies in tourism development and stakeholders should identify new areas for tourism development. Billa opined that public and private sector should work closely to market tourism products and destinations. Lohani said that innovation is the key for the success of tourism industry. Najeeb cited the Kerala Travel Mart and Wayanad Tourism Organization as the successful example of partnership with private players and NGO. Dominic emphasised that local community should also be included in tourism development.
Business Session II: Making India an Aviation Hub
The session was moderated by Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA South Asia, and speakers were Nishantha Wickremasinghe, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines; Goyal; Biji Eapen, President, IATA Agents Association of India; and Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents Association of India.
Kaul spoke about the potential of Delhi airport as a hub and how the absence of hub is impacting the growth of aviation industry in the country. Wickremasinghe talked about the relationship between India and Sri Lanka and how both countries can leverage on this relationship to develop tourism. He also highlighted the high airport charges in India.
“Delhi airport is one of the most expensive airports for airlines to fly,” Wickremasinghe said. Mulla advised that the government should provide transit visa to make India an aviation hub. Eapen opined that airlines and tour operators/travel agents should work closely for the growth of aviation sector in India.
