Tag: Indian Association of Tour Operators

Tourism industry in dire need of help: IATO

Tourism industry body IATO has urged the government to provide immediate relief to the tourism sector, which has been severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the tour operators have been forced to lay off their staff, many have sent staff on furlough and those who are remaining are getting less than 30%, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) said in a statement. In light of this, IATO has sought various relief measures from the government. This includes one-time financial grant of the gross salaries amount paid to the staff of tour operators on the basis of the ... Read more

IATO officials meet tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel, seeking financial support to tour operators

Representatives from the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) met Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel on Wednesday, to apprise him of the acute distress faced by the industry. The delegation urged the minister for financial support to tour operators so that they are not forced to close down their business, IATO said in a statement. The tour operators are not in a position to pay salaries to their staff since there is no business and they are under acute financial stress, it added. IATO has also asked for special collateral free and interest free long-term loans (5-10 years) to ... Read more

IATO writes to govt demanding better support for travel & hospitality sector

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has written to Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal and Tourism minister Prahlad Singh Patel urging the government to take various steps to protect the travel industry. In his letter IATO President Pronab Sarkar said, “We hope that the tourism industry which is the most affected sector due to Covid -19, will get considerable relief from the government both for survival and revival.” As result of the pandemic, the travel & hospitality industry in India is in dire straits today. There are nil revenues and almost all tourism businesses are running out of ... Read more

IATO Convention to be held in Kolkata from 12-15 September

IATO Convention 2018 The 35th convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is scheduled to be held in Kolkata from September 12-15, said Rajesh Mudgill,  Secretary, IATO. Further details will be announced in due course of time, he informed. “The 35th convention will likely be organised in Kolkata. We had some deliberations regarding the dates but things are almost finalised now. We are looking make this convention much bigger and better,” said Mudgill. The upcoming monthly luncheon meeting of the association, scheduled on July 10 at The Oberoi, Delhi will be followed by the Executive committee meeting, where ... Read more

Rahul Chakravarty joins IATO as Chief Operating Officer

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has appointed Rahul Chakravarty as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) to enlarge the scope and area of operations in the 1600-member body. Rahul Chakravarty, who took over the charge of office on April 1, 2019, has extensive experience in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) where he looked after tourism for 15 years. Gour Kanjilal, who was the Executive Director of IATO for the past 14 years, has resigned recently. The IATO leadership is confident that Rahul, with his vast experience in tourism, will help the organization to grow.  

MTB Kerala 2018 concludes in Wayanad

The fifth edition of International Mountain Cycling Contest has concluded at Wayanad in Kerala on December 8. MTB Kerala-2018 has concluded at the Priyadarshini Tea Estate in Mananthavady. The event was organized by Kerala Tourism, in association with Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society and Wayanad District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), is supported by Cycling Federation of India. Apart from contestants from India, cyclists from 11 foreign countries have also participated in the event. The categories include: International Cross Country Competition (Men), National Cross Country Competition (Men), and National Cross Country Competition (Women). “Fifth edition of the MTB has been the ... Read more

International Mountain Cycling Contest to be held in Kerala on Dec 8

The fifth edition of International Mountain Cycling Contest to be held at the hilly district of Wayanad in Kerala on December 8. MTB Kerala-2018 will be held at the Priyadarshini Tea Estate in Mananthavady. The logo of the event was released by Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran by handing it over to E M Najeeb, Senior Vice-President of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO). Tourism Additional Director Raghudasan, Cycling Federation of India Treasurer Jayaprakash, Magazine editor of Tourism India, Ravi Shankar and KATPS CEO Manesh Bhaskar were also present at the event. The event organized by Kerala Tourism, in association with Kerala ... Read more

34th IATO Annual Convention kick-starts in Visakhapatnam

K J Alphons, Minister for Tourism, Govt of India arrives at Vizag for the IATO convention The 34th Annual Convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) kick-starts at Novotel in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The annual convention held from September 6 to 9, 2018, is conducted under the patronage of the Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu. The minister will inaugurate the India Travel Mart at 6 pm at the hotel. The previous two conventions were held in Hyderabad in 1997 and 2003, both were inaugurated by the Chief Minister himself. The three-day annual convention, with the theme, “20 million foreign tourists by ... Read more

IATO to propose reduction in e-visa fee to attract more foreign tourists

Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), the apex association of inbound tour operators, will propose reduction in current e-visa fee as a measure to attract more international tourists to India. IATO said at first, it will take up the proposal with Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. This was informed by Pronab Sarkar, President of the Association while addressing the members at their monthly interactive meeting in Delhi. IATO opines that reduction in e-visa fee is important to attract more tourists to meet the targeted 20 million tourist arrivals by 2020. The Association will also ask the Tourism Ministry to ... Read more

Rajesh Mudgill makes a comeback; EM Najeeb elected Sr VP

At the recently held Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Rajesh Mudgill, Managing Director of Planet India Travels made a come back as Hon Secretary of IATO after an interval, whereas EM Najeeb, Managing Director of ATE Group who had lost for a small margin in the previous election, gave a sweet revenge winning the Senior Vice President title this time. Pronab Sarkar (President), Rajiv Mehra (Vice President), Rajesh Kayasth (Joint Secretary) and Ravi Gosain (Treasurer) were elected unopposed. The new active EC members are Raj Bajaj, Tony Marwah, PS Duggal, Deepak Bhushan, and Vinay Tyagi. Sunil Gupta, Zia Siddique, and Vijay Sarthi ... Read more

IATO annual convention to be held at Visakhapatnam in September

The 33rd IATO convention held in Odisha The four-day 34th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will be held at Hotel Novotel in Visakhapatnam from September 6 to 9. Tourism Minister KJ Alphons would inaugurate the convention on September 6.  The association will also organize  ‘IATO Run for Responsible Tourism’ on September 7 at 6 AM, starting from Beach Road, followed by panel discussions regarding tourism promotion in the State and domestic markets. “IATO meet was being organised for the first time in the State. About 1,100 tour operators would take part in the convention wherein latest developments ... Read more