The 34th annual convention the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), started with a grand opening in Vishakhapatnam on September 6. The Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism KJ Alphons graced the event that saw an overwhelming attendance from IATO members pan India. Other government dignitaries present at the inauguration included Minister of Tourism, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Bhuma Akhila Priya; Minister of Kerala, Kadakampally Surendran; Mukesh Kumar Meena, Secretary Tourism, Andhra Pradesh; and Himanshu Shukla, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Authority.
The three-day event whose theme aimed at achieving 20 million foreign tourists by 2020, debated on pertinent issues that India currently faces in reaching this milestone. At present, India welcomes a little over 10 million FTAs per year. This was revealed by Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Tourism, Government of India. She said, “In 2017, we had a growth of 15 per cent in foreign tourist arrivals. We also saw a 20 per cent in foreign exchange earnings. We have set ourselves a very tough target by our tourism minister – that of achieving 20 million tourists by 2020. Last year, for the first time we crossed the 10 million mark which was a doubling of the numbers in just three years. This was no easy task. Im sure that the new target we have set for ourselves will also be achieved if we all join hands.”
Meanwhile, Alphons paid tribute to his home state of Kerala and asked the audience to give a standing ovation to the people of India who had come in aid of the state in the time of trouble. He said, “I was here for 10 days during the floods and I was overwhelmed to see the kind of support that came from people of Kerala. I am very happy to say that today, Kerala is ready for business. It has bounced back!”
The Tourism Minister of Kerala extended an invitation to the association to hold their next convention in his state. During the evening, IATO along with FAITH, presented the state of Kerala with donations over of Rs 50 lakhs.
The first business session aimed to highlight the challenges of touching the ambitious milestone of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals within the next two years. The panellists also touched upon the ways in which this can be achieved. Verma, who was part of the session, said, “The 20 million is definitely achievable – there are no doubts about that. Of course, there are challenges but we have set certain things in place such as the inter-ministerial group that we have created which has been very successful in resolving issues which cannot be sorted by the Ministry of Tourism alone.”
This group includes the Ministry of Culture, the Environment Ministry, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of External Affairs as well as the Home Ministry. Verma added, “We also need to take a cue from Kerala Tourism model which has worked along with the private sector to double their numbers.”
Another strategy that the panellists agreed on was for India to focus on the neighbouring countries such as China, Russia and Japan and make India a short-haul destination while continuing to market in the traditional markets of the US and Europe.
The second session brought together members of key hotel companies face to face with tour operators to discuss what both industries can do to help the other since it is getting harder and harder to do business, whether it is the hotels or the travel trade. Homa Mistry, CEO, Trail Blazer, who was moderating the session, exclaimed, “Change, change, change is what we need. We also need to promote India in the summer season so that the hotels can fill their rooms during off season.” He indicated that in turn the hotels could continue to include the tour operators instead of going direct to customers.
The following session had an all women panel who spoke about their personal experiences that are evidence that India is a safe country. However, they did present ways in which the safety of women travellers could improve.
The final panel discussion, moderated by Rajesh Mudgill, Secretary, IATO, and MD of Planet India Travels, deliberated on how to change ones business to adapt to the changing mindsets of today’s travellers.
