Jyoti Mayal, TAAI President, handed over a Focus 2022 document to Union Tourism Secretary, Arvind Singh. TAAI appreciated the Ministry of Tourism’s (MoT) efforts and support extended to the travel trade during the tough times. The letter highlights key points for the year 2022 and how with the ministry’s support and encouragement tourism and travel trade would stabilise and sustain.
Mayal highlighted the key point of accreditation with MoT and requested for undertaking a state-wise registration drive along with TAAI, for the trade members to register with MoT; relax norms for over 1400 IATA accredited agents who are members of TAAI and automating the registration process.
The services sector is the largest contributor to the GDP and, travel trade being the most significant one amongst all, travel trade fraternity needs to be educated and upgraded continuously, especially under the ministry’s aegis, to aptly showcase our nation’s quality of providing the best services with appropriate knowledge, she added.
Jay Bhatia, Vice President elaborated that TAAI wishes to commence certified educational programs for its members and the entire trade on Incredible India. “Training on NDC / GDS / Visa Rules, Inbound, Outbound, MICE organisers, Education on financial matters, agro-tourism packages etc., are a few programs that could be designed by TAAI based on the experience and expertise its members hold because of the understanding of the challenges and being part of the trade since many decades.
Bettaiah Lokesh, HSG contributed that the Indian travel trade faces a lot of challenges while promoting both inbound and outbound tourism, and competing in the global world, especially pertaining to the GST, TCS, Credit Control, Tax rebates, incentives, support and much more. Taxes like such need to be abolished or at least substantially reduced, to start with, so that our Indian Travel Trade can compete in both inbound and outbound market and generate a huge foreign exchange for the exchequer.
Shreeram Patel, the Hon. Treasurer highlighted and emphasised the importance of MoT being the one point of contact for all issues of travel trade and ensuring that other Ministries in the government support and encourage the fraternity to do business with ease.
