TravTalk India Online Magazine
Owing to the inadequate number of accredited tourist guides in Mumbai, IATO members in the city are having a tough time fixing charges for them. This is more so for cruise passengers docking in Mumbai, for which the charges need to be negotiated with Tourist Guides Association (TOGA) Mumbai. The issue has been presented to the Ministry of Tourism.
Hazel Jain
The IATO Maharashtra Chapter recently conducted its chapter meeting with members in Mumbai to discuss certain issues they are facing. This includes guide charges for cruise passengers and tourist guides as well. They had invited Dr Sagnik Chowdhury, Deputy Director General & Regional Director (West & Central), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, to introduce him to members, as well as bring to his notice these challenges.
NS Rathor, Chairman, IATO Western Region, says, “We are facing a lot of problems with the cruise guide rates. So, we want to discuss this with our members. We have a lot of international cruise liners coming into Mumbai. The regular rates for city-sightseeing and Elephanta Caves etc are negotiated by IATO through the Delhi national body of Tourist Guides’ Federation of India (TGFI). However, for cruise passengers we have to negotiate rates locally. So, we had a meeting with the Tourist Guides Association (TOGA) Mumbai. They are asking us to pay 15-20 per cent more than the current rate negotiated with TGFI. We have not yet agreed on that. We have offered them 10 per cent. We will discuss this issue with our members and offer TOGA this rate. We hope they will agree with this.”
IATO had requested for a flat rate of 10 per cent for two years, but TOGA has disagreed. The Tourist Guides Association (TOGA) Mumbai claims to be the only group of government approved guides, licensed and trained by the Ministry of Tourism, and affiliated to TGFI and WFTGA (World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations).
Speaking for his members, Jitendra Kejriwal, Chairman, IATO Maharashtra and Dadra, Nagar Haveli & Daman Chapter, says, “Ever since travel has restarted, the tourist guides have started asking for a lot more money. They have started to charge more for every little thing they have to do. For instance, if they have to climb steps, they charge extra, if there is an issue with client, then they charge extra. This is an ongoing issue, and we will sort it out soon. There is a scarcity of good tourist guides in Mumbai, a lot of guides left the market during COVID. I believe, the Ministry of Tourism is training new people, which should resolve this problem as well.”
American tourists paying more
Sharing his feedback on the inbound traffic, Rathor says that the US and UK markets have opened up and are doing well. “Thanks to the US market, we are seeing a lot of high-end Americans coming to India. They are upgrading their package in terms of vehicle and hotels, so it has been good business for us. A lot of them are coming on charter flights, and they use high-end vehicles like S-Class and vans and opting for five-star hotels. A lot of cruise tourists have also started coming in from the US. Unfortunately, we are at the fag end of this season and a lot of cruise groups are cancelling because of the war in Red Sea.”
Unfortunately, Europe has not yet started, especially France and Italy. “They don’t want to do long-haul travel at the moment. A little bit of German traffic has started trickling in but not in big numbers. Unless and until they start coming to India, our budget tourism will be affected. Hopefully, this year we should get some good business from them,” he shares.
