Priyanka Saxena Ray
What has been IATO’s most significant initiatives and achievements over the past year under your leadership?
Our focus over the past year has been very clear—to make IATO more proactive, more visible and more relevant to the challenges facing the inbound tourism industry. Policy advocacy has remained a major priority. We have continuously taken up issues concerning our members and inbound tourism with the Ministry of Tourism and other concerned ministries and government agencies.
At the same time, we have strongly advocated the need to restore India’s visibility in international source markets through sustained overseas promotion. Another important focus has been strengthening engagement with our members across India and creating greater opportunities for regional destinations and tourism products. We have reached out to many states through Chapter meetings where IATO President and other office bearers engaged with local members.
Our effort has been to work constructively with the Government and industry stakeholders on marketing, overseas promotions, taxation, visas, connectivity, ease of doing business and India’s overall competitiveness as a tourism destination.
What will be the key highlights of this year’s IATO Convention in Visakhapatnam?
The theme of our 41st Annual Convention, “India: The World’s Next Tourism Opportunity,” itself defines our agenda. We want to move the discussion from India’s tourism potential to how we actually convert that potential into international arrivals and business.
Our sessions will focus on overseas marketing, changing source markets, technology and AI, new tourism products, sustainability, connectivity, stronger partnerships and the changing expectations of international travellers.
Visakhapatnam also gives us an excellent opportunity to showcase Andhra Pradesh beyond the established tourism circuits. We want our members to experience the destination, understand its products and return with new itineraries that they can sell internationally.
The Convention should deliver ideas that can be implemented, products that can be sold and recommendations that can be taken forward with Government. Its outcomes must become part of IATO’s agenda for the year ahead.
Which international markets are IATO focusing on?
The response to our outreach reinforces something I have consistently believed—India needs to be visible in international markets throughout the year. Tourism promotion cannot be an occasional activity.
Our maiden roadshow after ITB Berlin was successful, reaching B2B tour operators and travel agents in Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Going forward, markets such as the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Japan and Korea remain extremely important, while we must also identify emerging markets with growing outbound potential and better connectivity to India. Every market requires a different strategy. We cannot sell the same India everywhere.
Follow BOTT on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Subscribe BOTT Channels on WhatsApp & Telegram to receive real time updates
