TAAI To ‘Unbound’ India For Convention

Charmaine Fernz - Mumbai

Balbir Mayall

The upcoming Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) annual convention to be held in Kolkata in September is gearing up for success. Revealed Balbir Mayal, president, TAAI, "India as a country is opening up to a lot of opportunities for both inbound and outbound. In that regard, we have selected an ideal theme for the convention - India Unbounded. Subsequently, the reason for selecting North East is due to the fact that these states have never been exposed and the convention will provide them an ideal platform to showcase their hidden potential. The chief minister has also been very helpful and proactive, thereby providing our convention complete support of the state government. This is certainly encouraging as we would also be returning to Kolkata after a period of 10 years."

Adding further on the recent developments, Mayal said, "This is the first time that we have chosen an event management company - Encompass - to handle the convention. This will bring in a touch of professionalism and change the perception of the industry toward the annual convention. Apart from this, we are also looking at inviting the civil aviation minister, Praful Patel and minister for tourism, Renuka Chowdhury for the convention. However, approvals are still being awaited. Delegates attending the convention can look forward to pre and post tours of the north eastern states. There would also be an exhibition held by these states at the convention. With an expectation of 1,500 to 2,000 delegates, we promise to provide a convention full of entertainment and pertinent education of the industry issues."