TravTalk India Online Magazine
The newly-elected president of TAFI says that the first thing the team needs to do is revive the faith of its members, because an association derives its strength not from its leaders but from its members. The team’s priority is to revive TAFI and make it relevant again.
Hazel Jain
Members from Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) 11 Chapters chose Ajay Prakash as their new national president via electronic voting on July 24. He will lead the new team with Kamal Ramchand as the Vice-President. Other winners include Abbas Moiz as the National General Secretary, and Hitank Shah as the Treasurer. The five Managing Committee Members are Anil Kalsi, Lalith Jain, Rani Bachani, Rai Achal Krishna and Seeraj Sabharwal. The virtual election was conducted by NSDL.
Speaking about the new team’s main focus areas with immediate effect, Prakash says, “First thing that we are looking at is greater communication with our members, greater accountability, greater transparency, and to involve more members in the running and the thought process of the association. Unfortunately, though the number of IATA members in the country has increased significantly, the TAFI membership hasn’t kept pace. It has actually reduced. That is a worrying situation because an association derives its strength not from its leaders but from its members. And the first thing we need to do is revive the faith of our members. So the first thing to do is put the association back on track and everything follows from there. So our priority is to revive the association and make it relevant again.” He was TAFI President from 2010 to 2012.
Prakash adds, “The travel industry is facing tremendous, unprecedented challenges, but challenges compel you to think outside the box and look for creative solutions. We shall engage with our members in a more consistent, meaningful and coherent dialogue. Our Chapter committees need to be empowered and educated on the ever changing scenario, our members need to feel a sense of ownership and pride and to believe that TAFI is
there for them. We also need to work closely with all the other associations towards creating a credible lobby whose voice is heard. We need better outreach to the government and the travelling public and drive home the necessity of consultation with the industry on policy matters. But above all we need to inculcate a more responsible approach to tourism by all stakeholders. The term ‘revenge tourism’ has no place in the lexicon of the next normal. Sustainability has to grow beyond merely a catch phrase; the Green Imperative and Responsible Tourism need to be built into the core business strategy at every level of the tourism ecosphere.”
Highlighting some of the other key areas, Abbas Moiz, National General Secretary, says, “We need to urgently ensure that agents are protected against airline failure – this will protect not just agents, but also the travelling public since we have all suffered when an airline folds up. The fractured relationship between agents, airlines and IATA needs a serious overhaul. We shall create legal and facilitation cells to assist our members. Our objective is to create value for our members, and assist them to look at issues not as problems, but as a learning process, using technology to create unique solutions, suited to their own organisations. We shall also ensure that our members receive regular updates, from our liaison with relevant national government bodies like MoCA, MOT, DGCA, etc, and with our principals, i.e. IATA, airlines, hotels, diplomatic missions, tourism boards and all others of relevance.” Two more members are to be co-opted as per the bye laws of TAFI at the first meeting of the new Managing Committee, and Pradip Lulla will join the MC as Immediate Past President.
