TravTalk India Online Magazine
The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has declared the dates of their convention. The 34th IATO Convention will be held in Visakhapatnam from September 6-9, 2018.
Nisha Verma
IATO has announced its 34th convention almost a year in advance. It had announced Andhra Pradesh as the host state for the 2018 convention, just when it had announced the 2017 convention in Odisha. The venue of the convention is Hotel Novotel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach. The IATO team has already started working on the convention.
Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO, revealed that N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, has already confirmed his presence at the inauguration of the convention. “We have started working for the convention already. Our President Pronab Sarkar and I went to Vijayawada recently to meet the CM and invite him for the convention. He has accepted our invitation and confirmed his presence at the inauguration of the convention. Apart from him, Bhuma Akhila Priya, Minister of Tourism, Telugu Language and Culture, Andhra Pradesh, has also assured us that she will be present on all three days of the convention, including the
valedictory session.”
“IATO Convention will be held in the state of Andhra Pradesh for the first time. Around 1,100 tour operators from various parts of the country are expected to be present at the event including N Chandrababu Naidu and Bhuma Akhila Priya”
He also revealed that IATO and Andhra Pradesh Tourism held a joint press conference in Vijayawada, where they formally announced the convention. “It will be the first time that IATO Convention will be held in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Around 1,100 tour operators from various parts of the country are expected at the event,” Mehra added.
It was also announced at the press conference that a tour of Navya Andhra tourist places will be a part of the convention, allowing the delegates to see various tourism offerings of the convention first-hand. Himanshu Shukla, MD, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, revealed at the conference that they would develop six new tourism sites in the state and expressed his hopes that IATO convention would boost tourism into the state.
Speaking at the conference, Sarkar said that they will promote Visakhapatnam as a MiCE destination as well as for Buddhist tourism. IATO Run will also be organised on September 7 at Visakhapatnam beach as part of IATO tradition.
