Tag: IATO

“Local community participation to be sought in the development of tourism destinations, to have sustainable tourism development,” said Rashmi Verma, Tourism Secretary, Union Ministry. She was speaking at a session on “Mission: 20 million tourists – possibilities and challenges,” organised as part of the 34th annual convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), taking place in Visakhpatnam. “Involvement of the local communities in promotion would not only help in popularizing the new destinations, but also contribute to the local economy. We need such responsible tourism. We must learn from Kerala where the local people have become the stakeholders, by ... Read more

Tour operators in the country should tap the full tourism potential of the country and also special focus was needed to bring in more Chinese tourists, said Union Tourism Minister for State (I/C), K J Alphons. The minister was addressing the gathering at the inauguration of 34th IATO annual convention held at Novotel Hotel in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The minister also suggested that IATO be renamed Indian Association of Tour Ambassadors. “Though we have taken special measures to attract Chinese tourists to the country, only 2.47 lakh Chinese tourists visited India in 2017. I request IATO to play a major role ... Read more

Kashmir tourism department is planning to have country wide promotion campaigns in association with the private sector. In the first phase, attracting more south Indian tourists will be in focus. “We have set up stall in the 34th IATO (Indian Association of Tour Operators) convention in Vishakapatnam, which started on 6th September 2018 and will have presentations about our tourist hot-spots,” said Tasaduq Jeelani, Director of Tourism, Kashmir. “There will be promotional campaigns in all major cities, with priority to south Indian cities like Chennai and Bengaluru,” he added The state has been experiencing shortfall in the tourism inflow due ... Read more

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

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

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

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