ATA India Chapter had elected its new EC & Office Bearers unopposed for 2021-23 term; Mr. Jatinder Taneja to continue as Vice Chairman. Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will also continue to lead PATA India Chapter as its Chairman. The India Chapter of the Pacic Asia Travel Association (PATA) held its 249th Executive Committee (EC) meeting on December 23, where it elected the new EC members and Office Bearers for the 2021-23 term. The new team got elected unopposed which also means that the current representatives to the office will continue to hold a charge for two more years until 2023. Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will continue to lead the PATA India Chapter as its Chairman, while Jatinder Taneja, Managing Director, Travel Spirit International, will also continue as the Vice-Chairman.
E-articles of Mr. Jatinder Taneja were published in Trav Talk magazine on these two topics:- On Cloud-9 after visa opening Mr. Taneja stated that “the inbound tour operators are rejoicing after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced the re-opening of e-Tourist visa for foreigners and are ready to welcome them with all protocols in place. We speak to six experts who share their views on the industry needs to get ready for this influx and the future of foreign arrivals. This step will help drive in- bound tourism in the country. I would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to Arvind Singh, Secretary, MOT and Chairman PATA India chapter, for coordinating with relevant ministries to make this possible. The timing of the decision is ideal as vaccination rate in the country is high and we are observing a steady drop in cases. These facts induce a sense of security in travellers planning to revisit or explore India. This will help us revive tourism.” 2021 was full of optimism for us While 2021 displayed some hope for revival, inbound tourism has been impacted the most. However, we did welcome our first client from Spain in November. Despite the good movement in domestic business, travellers preferred to make bookings directly. One of the major developments of 2021 was the finalisation of COVID protocols by the MHA. Also, India has started granting tourist e-visas to most countries. The long-pending SEIS demand of the travel trade was finally met, and that was a big relief to the industry. The boost we were prepared for, has been de- railed again by the new Omicron variant. With new restrictions in place, international business that wa
PATA invited a leading marketing company and its associates to share information on the readiness of several European markets to promote tourism to India, covering their expectations and opportunities. These markets included UK & Ireland, Italy, France and Spain. The webinar covered the following topics: Europe’s key markets this year Emerging consumer buying behaviour: Expectations & Prerequisites What drives European tourist to India Building partnerships with FTOs The international panelist consisted of: Alison Cryer, Founder and Managing Director of Representation Plus, who covered UK & Ireland Sebastian Sarrasin, Director of Representation Plus Europe, spoke on Franc Diego Barcelo Perez, Founder & CEO, CCIBA covered Spain Fabiana Cannizzaro, Founder and Managing Director of Corat Italy updated on Italy.
The focus of the webinar was how India & neighboring countries are gearing to revive travel and tourism after second wave of COVID 19? The webinar discussed plans with Ministry of Tourism and other Industry leaders on preparedness for Travel 2.0 The key note speakers of the webinar were Mr Arvind Singh, Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Tourism and Dr Dhanajay Regmi, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board. Mr. Rajan Dattar, BBC Anchor on Travel & Tourism, had a fireside chat with them on the readiness of India & Nepal to welcome tourist to their country. Mr Alistair McEwan, SVP, BBC Global News delivered an overall global perspective on tourism from BBC point of view. It was followed by the BBC’s insight on Travel Audience and Travel Re-launch by Mr Vishal Bhatnagar and panel discussion with Industry leaders. The panel consisted of: Mr Sanjay Kumar – Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, Indigo Airlines Mr Parveen Chander Kumar – SVP Sales & Marketing, Taj Group of Hotels Mr Jatinder Taneja, Vice Chairman PATA India and MD, Travel spirit International Mr Nikhil Desai, MD Goa Tourism Development Corporation
