TravTalk India Online Magazine
Travel Agents Association of Pune, one of the oldest local associations in India, has appointed a law firm to prepare 17 different documents that they need to use in order to protect themselves from dishonourable clients. They have also written to the Minister of Civil Aviation raising concern over high airfares.
Hazel Jain
Nilesh Bhansali, President of Travel Agents Association of Pune (TAAP) since December 2024, is working hard for his members. TAAP, one of the oldest local associations for Pune agents, currently has about 125 members and a waiting list of 175 members.
Pointing out to the small membership base, Bhansali says, “This is because we have stringent policy for agents to become TAAP members. We check their basic documents like GST, their Udyam Aadhar, and whether they are filing their GST and income tax regularly, their minimum turnover, if they have their own office space whether rented or owned, etc. So, these are our basic criteria. We then shortlist the agents. Even when it comes to the DMCs who apply for TAAP membership to become a patron member, we don’t approve every application. We have some criteria, and only if they fit those criteria, they can be our members.”
Speaking about empowering its members, Bhansali shares, “We have appointed a legal firm that is creating 17 different legal agreements to protect our agent members. Nowadays, we are observing that a lot of clients are taking undue advantage of their position as a client. So, to make travel agents legally strong, the firm is working on different agreements, and maybe in next two months, we will ask all our members to start using them in order to protect themselves, not just from clients, but maybe also from DMCs and even airlines.”
Since TAAP is known for its trendsetting activities, the association has started making its members digitally advanced. “We have recently given out NFC smart business cards to our members, which has a barcode with their agency details,” informs Bhansali.
High airfares a challenge
Underlining a long-standing issue faced by all agents – high airfares – Bhansali shares that the association has written a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister highlighting many of its challenges, especially the high airfares. “On one hand, the government is emphasising on ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ but on the other the airfares within the country are so high. How does that make sense?” he asked.
Another challenge his members face is a flood of DMCs. “Often, we see some individual doing 10-20 packages and then calling themselves DMCs. For us, it’s a big challenge to identify the right company to work with. Then, there are some DMCs who are also doing B2B and B2C business where they are taking our database and connecting to our clients directly. So, it’s one of the biggest challenges. My client is my client, and DMCs cannot get in touch with them. So, now all the agents from Pune are refusing to work with DMCs who are also doing B2C. They want to deal only with the pure B2B agents,” Bhansali explains.
TAAP is also focusing on selling atypical, offbeat destinations and is in talks with many NTOs like Utah, Japan, Korea, Georgia for product training. Bhansali adds, “We are educating our members to prioritise and support airlines and hotels that are genuinely committed to working with the travel trade. We believe in building partnerships with entities that are willing to collaborate and grow together for a win-win situation. Unfortunately, many airlines and hotels today want business from agents but fail to offer reciprocal support. These entities are heavily marketing direct bookings with better deals, inclusions, and benefits, making it difficult for agents to compete. Why should we promote and work for them? We only want to work with those who are agent-friendly and prioritise the protection of travel agents’ interests.”
