Newstrack

London wins bid for TAAI conference 2008

Anupama Sushil - New Delhi

VisitLondon won the bid to host this year's Travel Agents Association of India's (TAAI) annual conference - its 57th Indian Travel Congress - to be held from September 26 to 29 at Lord's, London. This is the first time that the event will be held outside Asia in 57 years.

TAAI president C V Prasad said that the convention will be an ideal platform for business exchange between Indian operators and the local agents there since this would be their first major open interaction. London, being a gateway to Europe, will only help the sellers and stakeholders to come together. TAAI is now looking to organise its conferences worldwide. Says convention chairperson Shubhada Joshi, "We hope the airlines make the most of this opportunity and offer great fares. TAAI is extremely happy to lead the historic tourism initiative between the two countries, by bringing together all major stakeholders in tourism on one platform. We want our members to experience all that London and Europe have to offer so that they go back as confident ambassadors." Prasad revealed that there will soon be a domestic travel mart, the Indian International Travel Expo (IITE), which will concentrate on domestic players and will have workshops. The three-day annual event will be held in the beginning of every year. The first edition will be held in the first quarter of 2009 with Delhi as the likely venue.