Humble and diligent to the core, he has worked arduously over the last few years to not just make the government sit-up and take Inbound Tourism seriously, but has also played a significant role in keeping the functioning and image of the biggest association of tour operators intact. Rajiv Mehra, Director, Uday Tours and Travels and Vice President, IATO, is a man on a mission – to up the tourist numbers to India while ensuring that all members of the association move ahead and adapt to changing times. We are delighted to feature his journey and his plans for the future in our BOTT Spotlight exclusive.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
Born and brought up in Delhi, Rajiv was a brilliant student whose aim was to become an IAS officer – one of the toughest exams to crack, for which he sat twice. Since his calling in life was travel, fate assigned him his first job at one of the biggest travel companies of that time – Sita Travels. His first job was as an airport representative in 1977, moving on to the file handling department in 1980. Rajiv worked at the Sita Travels for a considerable time and learned quite a bit about inbound tourism. His remaining learning was gathered at his own company ‘Uday Tours and Travel’, which was formed in 1989 in partnership with another industry colleague. “Those were the good times. There weren’t many players in the inbound industry. So many hotels opened in front of me. A good thing about that period was that relations were more personalised then – something which is missing today. One thing that I had learned from Mr. Inder Sharma was that anything and everything is possible if you have time and that one must have faith in their juniors / colleagues – I follow this even today,” reminisces Rajiv.
He became a member of the IATO way back in 1993 and has been handling IATO Conventions’ registrations since 1994! Allocation of hotels, ticketing, registration at the convention site and putting together the kit bags were some of the key areas that the veteran has been handling for last so many years. From a humble man, quietly working in the background, happy to not be in the limelight and just going about doing his work to now the Vice President of IATO, 3 times convention chairman and a very strong candidate for the post of President in elections next year, Rajiv Mehra has seen much change in the industry that he is a part of. “I became an EC member for the first time in 2011, then again in 2014, then Vice President in 2016 and was elected unopposed as the Vice President again in 2018. The credit for my rise goes to Subhash Goyal, Pronab Sarkar, Rajeev Kohli and many other members who showed faith and confidence in me.
Over the last decade, IATO has not just grown strong in its member base and strength but has also gained strong foothold in the Ministry of Tourism, who now approaches IATO for guidance and inputs in boosting inbound tourism numbers in the country. While mission 20 million by 2020 looks tough, he strongly advocates that rationalising the GST is the need of the hour. “We at IATO are trying to do ‘image-building’ of our country through media. Soon we will appoint an official PR Company that will handle our media relations. The convention this year in Kolkata, with its theme – Is Tourism thriving: Challenges and Opportunities, is all set to be landmark convention and an interesting mix of sessions have been planned for the same,” he shares.
Rajiv Mehra appears to be the man who does little less besides work – a fact he sheepishly agrees to. “Most of my time is spent in working. When not working, I like to watch a good cricket match,” he admits. Joined by his daughter Sakshi, who is as diligent in her work as her father, Rajiv Mehra is the name synonymous with IATO – a man who was for many years been working in the background before its own members pushed him into the limelight. While he may or may not contest for the Presidential post next year, Rajiv Mehra, for many, is already “the man who knows it all” in IATO, who is often approached by people seeking information or inputs on Inbound Tourism. It was indeed a delight catching up with him for a candid conversation.
