TravTalk India Online Magazine
Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, in an interview with TravTalk, revealed that the association’s elections for the 2024-2026 term will be held along with the AGM before September end, while the elections for various TAAI chapters are being held across the country. She urged the government to support the association for the growth of tourism in the country.
Surbhi Sharma
Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said that the association’s activities are not just confined to India, and they are “connecting the dots” between different countries and bringing them closer to India for tourism. Commenting on the Union Budget 2024, she said, “The budget was very disappointing for us personally in many ways. Of course, it had its good points of infrastructure and skilling, but as far as tourism and hospitality are concerned, we still need to work on a lot of things and need the last mile connectivity. For that, we certainly need more airports. We need religious tourism to come to the fore and MICE to happen.”
She added, “For the growth of tourism sector, we need the taxes to be relaxed, and GST to be reduced to become more economical for inbound travellers, as foreign exchange earnings have become necessary for every country. TCS is another point that we are not happy about because the burden of collection of taxes has come on to travel agents. If that happens, only then the number of inbound tourists increases and touches new heights, she added.
Mayal said, “After witnessing the rebound and growth of the tourism sector post-COVID, we urge the government to support us because we would love to become, what our Prime Minister says, Atmanirbhar, but we need some hands to hold us straight. We want the government to support us in marketing and promoting India globally and help us conduct and organise roadshows while connecting with B2B. TAAI is with PM Modi’s vision and wants to work with him, but our only appeal is to make us your partner.”
Association activities
Mayal said that annual meeting of regional chapters took place recently. “Now, we look forward to TAAI’s elections for the term of 2024-2026, which will be held along with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) before the end of September,” she said.
She mentioned that TAAI has been doing a lot in the last five years and is in constant touch with the Ministry of Tourism while engaging with the stakeholders. “To increase foreign footfall, TAAI is engaging with all the missions outside India and working closely on the ‘Incredible India’ website for its launch,” she said that all this will not just benefit the industry, but also bear fruits for TAAI members.
Talking about the association membership, she said, “We have grown to approximately 2,700 members. Those who had left during the pandemic due to low business are also joining back.” Talking about the expansion in tier II and III cities, she highlighted, “Despite not having a regional chapter in Bihar, we are getting a lot of requests. Recently, we have been invited by the state to open a chapter there. We have also been invited by the stakeholders and the Government of Odisha to come and open a chapter there, which shows that the government also wants to be a part of us.”
