Travel industry leader and President of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) passed away due to a heart attack in Delhi last night. He was also serving as Vice Chairman of the World Travel Agents Association Alliance (WTAAA) and COO, Via Agency Sales.
Seen as one of the doyens of the Indian travel industry, Chugh spent more than four decades in the travel sector, not only providing leadership and guidance to the industry but also in creating some of India’s largest travel companies.
He was credited for having led one of the travel industry’s most successful growth stories TSI-Yatra. He also had the distinction of serving as a Member of APJC – Agency Programme Joint Council (IATA), since its inception. He also serves as a Member of PAPGJC – Passenger Agency Programme Global Joint Council (IATA) since 2008.
Elected President of TAFI in 2016 & 2018, he also held several key positions over the years like Vice President (TAFI) 2004 – 2006, President of TAFI 2006 – 2008, President of SKAL International – Delhi, President of SKAL International – India and Vice-President of SKAL – West Asia.
He started his career by joining the hotel industry in 1974. Driven by a desire to venture into the world of travel, he joined the travel trade in 1976. He worked for 15 years from 1976 to 1991 with President Travels and was instrumental in making the company one of the top 5 Travel agencies in North India under his leadership. Subsequently, he started Pearl International in 1991 along with its promoters and took the company from a startup venture to becoming the largest travel agency in North India and one of the top three in the country.
In 1999, he started Travel Services International (TSI) which went on to become one of the largest Online B2B consolidation companies in North India.
