On 3rd evening TAFI invited the members of the Gujarat Chapter for an interaction with the officials of Gujarat Tourism and the National MC.
Mr. Manish Sharma – Chairman of TAFI Gujarat chapter delivered the welcome address and thanked Gujarat Tourism for their ongoing support to the trade and to this get together of TAFI officials from across the country. His passion for tourism was evident in his witty and knowledgeable address.
TAFI President Ajay Prakash accorded a traditional welcome to Shri Jenu Devan, MD & Commissioner of Gujarat Tourism. He shared his vision of a resurgent travel and tourism industry as vaccinations picked up pace and the epidemic ebbed. The one positive that came out of the Covid 19 he said was that Indians began to discover India. He congratulated the Gujarat government on the addition of Dholavira to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites and spoke of the need for responsible tourism, even more so in such ecologically sensitive sites.
In his speech Mr. Jenu Devan spoke passionately not only about the well known sites but also about the unknown and lesser known tourist attractions of Gujarat. He invited The NJC to visit some of the nearby attractions on this visit and extended an invitation to TAFI to hold a convention in Gujarat, promising to extend full support.
The evening ended with a sumptuous dinner and bonding between the members.
The NJC (National Joint Council) meeting was held the next morning at the Gift City Club. TAFI President Mr. Ajay Prakash expressed his satisfaction with the excellent turnout and the presence of all Chapters. He outlined his vision of a strong TAFI where the Chapters were empowered to take decisions for the betterment of the industry and the membership was encouraged to communicate frankly with the elected officials at the Chapter or the national level. He reiterated the commitment of the National MC to visit every Chapter and interact personally with the members. He also spoke about the higher paradigm of tourism – which was to connect people across boundaries and promised to send over the IIPT Credo of the Peaceful Traveller, which he urged every member to adopt and display in their office.
Mr. Moiz Abbas, the General Secretary, thereafter proceed with the extensive agenda.
A key part of the Agenda was to understand the issues at the Chapter level and every Chapter Chairman was invited to report on their respective regions.
Mr. Ankit Bajaj – Secretary TAFI Gujarat with his team Mr. Ronak Shah, Mr. Dilip Masrani & Mr. Jigar Dudakiya presented a detailed chapter report and shared more than 15 points on 3-dimensional growth of Travel Agents and TAFI.
Mr. Khushvinder Sarna – Chairman North India and Mr Raminder Singh Narula – Chairman Karnataka Chapter supported by Mrs. Shanthi Soni – Secretary Karnataka Chapter Jointly suggested various activities leading to a better performance on healthy and wealthy industry development.
Mr Paulose Mathew – Chairman Kerala Chapter had a detailed list of suggestions on better functioning of TAFI pan India activities.
Mr. Sunil Uttam – Chairman Pune Chapter supported by Mr. Sameer Kulkarni Chapter Secretary shared their vision on development of Pune Chapter Members.
Mr. Jitul Mehta – Chairman Western India chapter supported by Mr. Burjis Mehta Chapter Secretary highlighted Data protection strategies for all member agencies.
Mr. Anil Punjabi and Mr. Biloksha Das Chairman and Secretary East India Chapter added their chapter report and betterment vision.
Mr. Ahmed Hashmi Syed & Mr. Habib Mujtaba Secretary and Treasurer Andhra Pradesh Chapter were very happy to participate in their first NJC meeting. They voiced their chapter strengths and future vision to develop AP chapter.
Mr. T.K. Jose with Mr. Hariom Jhunjhunwala Chairman and Secretary Madhya Pradesh Chapter were very happy with their first NJC meeting participation and assured everyone that they would make all efforts to strengthen the MP Chapter.
Mr. Raman Jadwani with Mr. Pankaj Bansal Chairman and Secretary Chhattisgarh Chapter shared their vision on chapter growth under the guidance of National team.
Mr. Arul Lazaran – Chairman Tamil Nadu chapter actively listed their chapter activities and discussed future development strategies.
National Team–
Mr. Achal Rai Krishna – Managing Committee member educated all participants future vision to develop social media coverage of TAFI.
Mr Anil Kalsi – National Joint Secretary listed his efforts of liaising with the Ministries and his meeting with MoS Civil Aviation as a part of increasing strong relationships with all Government authorities.
Mr. Bhaskar Subbiah – Managing Committee member shared his vision on pan India Membership development strategies with a support from all chapters.
Mr. Hitank Shah – National Treasurer in support with Mr Lalith Jain were optimistic to generate more revenue which will help Trade Betterment activities.
Ms. Rani Bachani – Managing Committee member and head of the Tourism Boards committee requested Mr. Burjis Mehta to make a short presentation of a template on how to approach Tourism Boards for support.
This was a fully interactive meeting where every participant was given time to speak and was involved actively in all discussions and strategies. The Council members were very appreciative and thanked the national MC for this opportunity. They also appreciated how the meeting was efficiently conducted by the General Secretary enabling free and frank discussion. All present appreciated the “Gift City Club” as an excellent venue for such a meeting. With spacious rooms, delicious food, courteous staff and overall elegant appearance the Gift City Club is a very comfortable venue. The Gujarat Chapter received numerous compliments for their flawless execution.
As a part of this event, Gujarat Team TAFI was able to arrange a VIP visit to the Akshardham Temple after the meeting.
