Skål Bombay wants to corporatise

Partha Chatterjee, President, Skål Club of Bombay, has been trying to make the club more professional and streamline it while expanding its membership base by including individuals and entities from allied industries as well.

Ever since he took over the mantle in October 2016, Partha Chatterjee, President, Skål Club of Bombay, has been trying to corporatize it to make it more streamlined. It is already in partnership with networking organisations for expats and likeminded professionals and is in talks with chambers of commerce for joint functions of mutual benefit. Chatterjee adds, “We are looking at twinning opportunities across the globe with like-minded cities on cultural, commercial, ethnicity and connectivity matches. Moreover, since feedback and communication forms the crux of any professional organisation, our club is using its WhatsApp groups, Facebook and other social media platforms to reach out to its members and understand their needs.”

The president is also keen on expanding its membership base to include individuals from other industries as well. The club currently has 150 members but covering only airlines, consultants, destination management companies, hotels, inbound tour operators, cruise liners, outbound tour operators, reservation systems, tourism authority, travel agents and travel educational institutes. “There is scope to get memberships also from Mumbai airport, car hire, congress centers, golf courses, holiday camps, medical tourism, ports, railways, restaurants, spas, sports tourism, travel insurance and the travel media. This will bring in new scope for ideation and general development,” Chatterjee reveals. The new committee has already inducted industry giants like JehangirKatgara and Sanjay Sethi as advisors and will be inducting some more.

Not just numbers, the club also wants to change the demography of its members. Currently, 80 per cent of the members are men and only 20 per cent are women. Also, 24 per cent of the total members are between 30-40 years, 36 per cent between 40-50 years and 40 per cent over 50 years. “So there is scope to change the mix and increase participation from women and the youth,” he adds.

Upcoming initiatives
Skål Bombay is looking at twinning opportunities across the globe
The association plans to expand its membership
It will also invite more women and youth to join as members