The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has shared that the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the 67th Convention of the association. The event is taking place in Colombo from July 6 to 9, 2023.
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dinesh Gunawardena will be a part of the event on July 7 and the event celebrations and the dinner is being hosted at Lemon Trees, The Prime Minister’s Residence for all delegates of the Indian Travel Congress. High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Gopal Bagley will be also attending the inaugural ceremony.
As the date for the upcoming 67th TAAI Convention and Exhibition in Colombo draws closer, the association has lined up an interesting and invigorating mix of knowledge sessions and speakers, who will keep the delegates engaged during the event. The Convention has received an overwhelming response and the delegation size includes 500 stakeholder member partners from India.
Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI said, “The focus of the Convention this year is completely futuristic. The pandemic was tragic, brutal and truly devastating but the time is now right for us to move forward. When we are talking about “Transcending Borders”, we refer to the crossing borders of countries because tourism doesn’t need any borders. Tourism brings prosperity and peace to every country and it is a highly economic-driven sector, which is the backbone of every country.”
“Tourism is changing dramatically. People are not interested in the same type of travel. They are looking for new adventures and fresh destinations. So just as you have evolved, your mind needs to evolve too. We need to focus on how growth can happen and not live in our past. We need to Transcend minds to Transform lives,” she added.
The business sessions lined up for the Convention will focus on topics – ‘India Tourism Vision 2047: A Transformed Landscape of Experiences and Connections’; The boundless potential of the skies; Experiential Travel – A Paradigm Shift in Tourism; NEXTAAI – The TAAI Members’ Technology initiative; Differentiating Travel – Perspectives from Industry Experts; Transcending Borders – Strengthening International Relations for a Transformed World and TAAI – The Road Ahead.
Some of the speakers include Arvind Singh, former Secretary Tourism, Government of India; Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook India; Nipun Agarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Air India and K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor – South Asia, Radisson Hotels Group, Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, FAITH; Pieter Elbers, CEO Indigo; Amitabh Khosla, Country Director, India, IATA; Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air; Rajeev Bhatia , Chief Commercial Officer, Amadeus India; Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, Indigo; Richard Nuttall, CEO, Sri Lankan Airlines; Kapil Kaul, CEO and Director, CAPA India; Ajeet Bajaj, Managing Director, Snow Leopard Adventures, Dev Karvat, Founder and CEO, Asego Insurance; G B Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board; Commander Nevil Malao, Senior Vice President, JM Baxi & Co.; Noel Swain, COO, Passport, eVisa, Identity & Citizen Services, VFS Global; and Sandeep Dwivedi, CEO, InterGlobe Technology Quotient apart from others.
On the final day of the Convention, there will be a special address by Harin Fernando, Minister of Tourism and Lands, Sri Lanka. Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI said, “Our Convention will serve as a conduit for fostering stronger bilateral relationships between India and Sri Lanka. With around 200 Sri Lankan tourism stakeholders participating in the B2B sessions, we expect this event to be a fruitful venue for networking and establishing strong business relations. Such interaction is vital in harnessing the growth of inbound and outbound travel from India and channelling it towards destinations that offer new, exciting experiences.”