‘Forming ASATI Is My Top Priority’

Ram Kohli, chairman, PATA has a strong agenda to boost tourism in the region. In an exclusive with Anindita Chattopadhyay, he highlights the plans and programmes strategised under his tenure

What was the mood at the PATA 2004 convention?

It was the most successful convention of PATA ever. 2,140 delegates attended the convention and with tourism bouncing back, the mood was upbeat. Members appreciated the live video conferencing connecting the two continents and wanted a repeat act.

What are your plans to strengthen the organisation?

I want to make PATA the number one association in the tourism industry because 70 per cent of tourism takes place in the Asia Pacific region. Hence, my focus will be to increase membership, get more constituents and government involvement. We want PATA to play a major advocacy role because governments often make hasty decisions in issuing travel advisories thus affecting the biggest employment generating industry leading to job and revenue loss. This holds true especially for developing countries. We want PATA to be consulted before such actions are taken. I want the the members to be more actively involved and procure more benefits from the association. For instance, we have decided that PATA will give booths at concessional rates to members at the PATA Travel Mart. We will also help member countries in sending task forces to conduct surveys and prepare reports on their tourism industry.

What is the initiative that tops your agenda?

The initiative that tops the agenda is to start a private initiative of South Asian countries called ASATI, that is, Association of South Asian Travel Industry. The initiative would entail joint promotion of tourism because these countries including India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives have limited resources. The first meeting of the steering committee will be held in the first week of June to discuss ways to take the initiative forward. It will be a non-governmental organisation, so only the private sector, namely the tour operators, agents, hoteliers etc from these countries will be invited.

How do you plan to take the concept of ASATI forward?

PATA is working hard toward promoting tourism between India and Pakistan, North Korea and South Korea. We are trying to break political barriers between countries, for the simple reason that tourism knows no borders. The visit to Pakistan has been fruitful as there will be a convention of trade association representatives in Pakistan soon. We have started a dialogue with North Korea and South Korea and Peter de Jong, the PATA chairman, is actively working on the project.

Do you think the change of government will affect tourism development in the country in any way?

No, I do not think so. No new government I believe, will deny the fact that tourism is an important employment generator.