Act as ambassadors of tourism

By Biji Eapen
President, IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI)

The Indian travel industry is surging ahead in accordance with the tremendous growth as seen in the Asian aviation industry. At the same time, the travel trade is facing new challenges from all areas of operation. These challenges are manifold, and thus, it is now high time for the Indian travel trade to identify the same and to prepare themselves to survive in the industry by adopting new technologies as well as new business models, instead of engaging in unhealthy competition.

If we delve deeper into the happenings of the Indian travel industry, it becomes evident that the changes as well as new policies are far from being travel-friendly. The main reason for such a scenario is the lack of co-operation and coordination among travel agents. It is the need of the hour, therefore, for each travel agent and their respective associations to try and establish harmony amongst themselves, irrespective of differences in opinion.

Though the growth rate of the aviation industry is on an upswing, expenses are shooting up in terms of administration costs, financial guarantee expenses, etc., and at the same time the traditional revenue source of airline commissions has narrowed down. The airlines, too, are now implementing more and more penalties as well as fees on travel agents to enhance their revenue base, which in turn results in high revenue losses for travel agents who sells the services of the principal.

The much discussed "Zero commission" policy is also round the corner, and there have been no steps taken collectively by the travel agent community in this regard. IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) is taking this matter very seriously and following up with the concerned authorities. We have already made our request known through our letter to the chairman- Air India to urgently convene the meeting of the special committee, with representatives of airlines and travel agents to study the transaction fee models as agreed upon during the nation-wide agitation by the travel agents associations in 2005. We also put a demand forward for reinstating the previous level of IATA Commissions in India by taking into consideration the ground realities prevailing in India which are totally different from the market conditions prevailing in Europe and the US.

Though the past years were not so promising for the industry, we at IAAI are still optimistic and expect that the travel trade will identify their shortcomings very soon and will take appropriate measures to rectify the same, besides taking necessary steps to adopt new technology and business models to face the challenges ahead. Here all the three national associations of travel agents in India should take initiatives to equip and train their member agents through all possible measures. Also, the associations should act as a common platform to negotiate with the respective authorities on a national and international level.

With respect to the new aviation policy as well as tourism policy of the Government of India, we at IAAI feel that the year ahead will be good for the travel trade. IAAI would like to suggest to the Government of India to take the initiative of having an open dialogue with the travel trade in India, in order to achieve long term goals for the development of the travel and tourism industry in the country. We should make each travel agency in India act as 'ambassadors' of tourism in India and the government should take urgent steps in this regard.

As far as IAAI is concerned, the year 2008- 2009 will be of great importance. The National Convention of IAAI, ICON 2008 will be held at Hyderabad from January 10 - 13, 2008, which will be inaugurated by D Tiwari, governor of Andhra Pradesh.

During the convention, IAAI is planning to launch an online travel portal www.iataagents.org for all the member agents, that will provide online booking solutions with the best negotiated prices from the airlines, in association with a leading GDS company. This project will definitely be an advantage for travel agents in India, enabling them to survive the unhealthy trade practices of the consolidators in the market. The advantage for each member agent is that he can highlight his own identity by issuing tickets from his own stock and IATA number at the most competitive prices, enjoying all the privileges which are currently being monopolised by the consolidators. The travel portal project has planned to develop a new revenue model for the travel agent, and we at IAAI are proud to have such an initiative - being an association by the agents, for the agents.

As an association of exclusively IATA accredited agents, IAAI feels that IATA agents should redefine activities within the frame work of IATA and should foster a healthier airline-agent relationship, in the hope that the new National Aviation Company- "Air India", will pave the way for that. The theme of our convention ICON2008 itself is - "IATA Agents by 2020, Goals and Challenges".

IAAI is thus looking to better the travel industry by way of co-operation and co-existence within the industry. Good trade practices are another important factor to be taken into account for the well being, as well as survival of the travel fraternity. I personally feel that to achieve such a goal, all the three national associations in India, namely TAAI, IAAI and TAFI should converge on a common platform to formulate policies as well as to regulate the industry for the well being of each individual agent.

Another important matter of concern is the upgradation of the quality of human resources in our industry. UFTAA is working on a different module of training program, which will be work-oriented, practical and professional, so as to involve the whole aviation industry, and tourism endorsements including UNWTO. It will in turn incorporate the local requirements of each country with the support of national travel associations.