IATO convention in August

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is geared up for its convention in August and the upcoming elections in April-May. In its bid to strengthen itself on a pan India basis, the association has special focus on increasing its membership, for which it has also reduced fees in many states and Union Territories.

Nisha Verma

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) recently held their luncheon meeting where a number of important announcements were made. Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, talked about their participation at FITUR, and shared that they are in touch with the Union Minister of Tourism (MOT) for confirming participation at ITB Berlin as well.

Convention approaching

Briefing about their upcoming convention he revealed, “IATO Convention is taking place in August 2025, and we will announce the dates very soon. We are trying to finalise the hotels first before an official announcement is made. The convention will be held at the Swosti Premium Beach Resorts in Puri, which has changed a lot with new developments like roads and infrastructure.”

Announcements galore

Mehra revealed that the association has conveyed its budget demands via FAITH to the Union Finance Minister, who has acknowledged the same as well.  He also shared, “The IATO Annual Day will be held on 9 February. In addition, IATO will have a new president in April-May as we will have our biennial elections this year.”

Passing the baton

Mehra also shared that they are preparing for their upcoming elections as well. “We will have a new president in April-May,” he shared.

IATO on MOT website

Speaking at the luncheon, Sanjay Razdan, Hon. Secretary, IATO, highlighted that they have requested MOT to make corrections on its recently revamped Incredible India website. “We apprised Mugdha Sinha, Director, Tourism, about the discrepancies in the revived website and requested for corrections. We informed her that the IATO package tour link on Incredible India website was for leads and queries generation received by MOT recognised IATO active members. However, it was missing after the website was revamped.

Strengthening membership

In a bid to strengthen IATO on pan India basis with a special focus to increase membership. Razdan said that in many states and Union Territories admission fees was reduced from `10,000 to `5,000.”