Theme:  Indian Tourism: Still Awaiting a Breakthrough

President:  Subhash Goyal Stic Travels Pvt. Ltd.

Convention Chairman:  Major Murli Dhar, Cosmopolitan Tour Operators and Travel Agents

C0-Chairman:  Badri Bajaj, Adventure World Travel (I) Pvt. Ltd.

Chief Guest:  Ananth Kumar the Union Minister of Tourism

A brief detail:

  • Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Tourism, inaugurated the convention.
  • Keynote Adress: Arun Jaitely, Union Minister of Information, Broadcasting and Law.
  • Shiela Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi inaugurated the Indian Tourism Fair.
  • Valedictory Address: Bina Kak, Tourism Minister of Rajsthan delivered the valedictory address.
  • Hall of Fame award: MP Bezbaruah, Secretary Tourism, Govt. of India, Ashok Pahwa, Secretary, Urban Development,Govt. of India

Business Sessions:

  • India’s Image Transformation
  • Need of the Hour
  • Changes, Challenges & Competition
  • N ew Millennium: Era of Partnership & Alliances
  • Infotech Rage: Threat or Opportunity
  • Tour Operators: Endangered Species
  • Aviation Policy: How to Ensure Smooth Take Off
  • During this convention, matters to do with tourism policy, repositioning of tourism, civil aviation policy, state and central government co ordination, merging of tourism and civil aviation ministries and infrastructure for the tourism industry were taken up.
  • Out of these areas highlighted, came the reassuring response from the Union Minster of Tourism that a new Tourism Policy would be announced within a month and that a series of tourism summits between him and the state governments would be held.
  • Discussing the changes, challenges and competition, efforts of Kerala, Rajasthan and Gujarat were presented as success stories for others to emulate. Many state representatives including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit disclosed that new tourism laws were being introduced in their states.
  • It was also pointed out that alliances and mergers were inevitable, but one had to take care that they were not unequal, unstable and detrimental to Indian interests.
  • Leaders of various segments of the tourism industry echoed the reassuring statement of professor Kapil Kumar that the tour operators and travel agents were not endangered and that the bigger players in tourism would eventually have to come back to them.