Ready to fly again

Wednesday 27th April 2022 12:42 EDT
 

The last two years were very challenging for the travel and tourism industry. Now the industry has finally started to get back on its feet and travellers are ready to fly. As a part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Gujarat Samachar, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar organised a seminar as an initiative to boost the business of the Travel and Tourism industry. Issues and concerns of the travellers as well as travel agents were discussed and answered by an expert panel.  

Kanti Nagda MBE, CEO of Sangat advice centre gave a welcome speech, briefly explaining the history of the charity that goes back 49 years ago. 

 

Introducing the theme of the seminar, CB Patel, Editor-In-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar said, “Traveling is not just limited to enjoyment, it’s all about exploring new places, new people, cultures, cuisines, rituals and styles of living. It’s to experience life in a different way and also a good remedy for stress, anxiety and depression. Now people have overcome the fear and are resuming their pre-pandemic lives as a new normal. Today we are here to find out the possible and practical solutions to boost the travel and tourism industry.”

 

The moderator of the discussion was Paresh Kiri, Head of Acquisitions and Investment of Stratsmore Group. Mahesh Liloriya, Group Editor welcomed the guests. Pooja Raval, Manager of business development ABPL group introduced the panelists.

 

The panelists included: Suhas Jadav regional manager (UK & Europe) Air India, Sean Tipton press office – ABTA, Rajan Sehgal chairman Skylord Travels, Hitesh Mehta managing director Citibond Travel, Divyakumar Shah, CEO of Sona Tours, Navin Shah former member and chair of the London assembly. The consensus among them was all about learning from the last two years because now is the time to fly. 

 

 The last flight

 

Suhas Jadhav Regional Manager of Air India (UK, Europe, Israel and Moscow) said, “I remember the last flight from the UK was on 18th March 2020. We were astonished. On 4th April we got the message that India is going to operate the Vande Bharat fight. I was stuck with only 50 per cent staff. We were supposed to do the ticketing in our office for the list which was coming to us from the India commission. It was a horrendous job. There are so many instances that my airport manager was crying because flights were full and people were in such a dire stage to get tickets. In the fourth phase, we started allowing travel agencies for ticketing. Till that time, we did the ticketing from 9 am to 1:30 am. It was a mission for us. We did it. The scene was the same at the time of the Ukraine crisis. We only operated one flight successfully. The second flight was about to land but the Ukrainian government didn’t allow us. We are now over the pandemic and the travel industry is picking up speed. Now is the time that the people want to move out. We are pretty optimistic about that.”

 

 126 million new jobs in Travel & Tourism

 

Sean Tipton press office – ABTA said, “You all know the kind of business pressures on you but as far as the refund is concerned there has to be a balance. We were here to provide support to our members. Obviously, you're ready, at the same time you also think about regaining public confidence. We do surveys every now and then, it was really surprising that 75% of people still thought that severe restrictions are in place. About 30% to 40% of new customers said that they've never used the travel agent before. The latest World Travel and Tourism Council Economic Impact Report has revealed that the Travel and Tourism sector is expected to create close to 126 million new jobs within the next decade. The report indicates that the tourism sector will be the driving force of global economic recovery, thus creating one in three all-new jobs. Travel and Tourism would be the third biggest employer on the planet.”

 

Refunding needs reforms 

 

Rajan Sehgal, Chairman of Skylord Travels said, “We have been in this business for the past 40 years. We are mainly consolidators and work between Airlines and the Travel agents. We all faced a very tough time. There were a lot of issues regarding refunding. We have regulatory bodies like ABTA and ATOL, these bodies must make sure that all the money should be refunded within the time limit.”

 

Hitesh Mehta, Managing Director of Citibond Travel, said, “We have been in the family business for the last 45 years. It was a very painful time for the travel and tourism industry. Our business is quite diversified. We have a good spectrum of clientele. Refund was the major issue, however, now things are good. Technology is also very important now. It’s our responsibility to educate the people who want to travel. Now the majority of the world is open, so we should think about how to get promoted again, how to get people’s confidence.”

 

 

Divyakumar Shah, CEO of Sona Tours (the brand has been in business since the 1970s) said, “Two years were of great challenges but the good thing is we are coming out of pandemic fear. The whole industry was at a standstill, but we eventually returned all the refunds back. We were listed as the only Indian company among 24, which refunded the funds back to customers. Things are better now. Much healthier, safer and easier. People have started travelling but they are still scared. We all have become more technical. That's a good outcome of the pandemic.”

 

Navinbhai Shah, former member and chair of the London Assembly said, “This centre is a landmark of Harrow. Harrow is a hub of the Indian community. Outside Leicester, Harrow has the highest presence of the Indian community in the UK. This is the beginning of a new era for everyone in economic activity as well as in lifestyle. People are still having concerns, perceptions and Fear. Convincing the travellers is an added responsibility of the tourism industry."

 

Pravin Kantaria, MD of P&R Travel said, “I've been in the business for the last 36 years. Our speciality is tailor-made packages. Planning in advance with proper advice is very necessary to avoid last time sneakiness.”

 

Paras Meisheri, Director of Global Travel Solutions was also present at the seminar. His company specialises in Iraq, Iran and Africa tours. 

 

Charat Mehra, Sales manager of Skylord travel admitted that “it's been a horrendous two years” and now people are waiting to get on to a site and waiting to book a holiday.

 

Delivering a vote of thanks CB Patel, Editor-In-Chief of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar said, “The largest print media publicity in all national and international press are related to travel and tourism. I am privileged to share that Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar have been the favourite source for the advertisement and promotion activities of airlines and travel companies for many years. We have the largest share of advertising and promotion in the ethnic press. Even during the pandemic, our services were utilised by this sector and we even gave our maximum to promote and support this sector.

ABPL Group, publishers of Gujarat Samachar & Asian Voice, has conducted various events, seminars and webinars befitting the requirements of our readers, community and our advertisers. Our recent seminars with support from the RAF at the House of Lords received huge acclamation from renowned dignitaries.

“We are privileged to organise this Travel & Travel tourism seminar and I am very grateful to all the participants and panelists who have helped us to make this small initiative a grand success with their presence. It is the first time when there is a dialogue with stakeholders, service providers and consumers.

“I must recall, in 1966 I met Mr Manek Dalal. He strengthened Air India. He also played an active role in the establishment of Bhartiya Bhavan which is a real place of Indian culture, dance and music. In those times Air India was one of the world’s best five airlines. Actually, it’s a bridge between overseas Indians and India.

“This seminar is only a trailer of the movie. A lot more to be done for the Travel and Tourism industry.”

 

Experts answer common questions related to travel and tourism 

 

Q: Why are travel agents demanding full money in advance for the future trip? 

Experts: The longer you leave the ticket it will become more expensive. Airlines offer attractive fares only for a certain period of time. Now if it's a flexible ticket you can deal on a deposit basis. If you pay the full amount, you should be given the ticket. Whereas in the case of just holding a deposit, you are liable for the fare increase. So, it's worth checking the terms and conditions, each agent will have its own way of operating.

 

Q: Is paying by card instead of cash safe and sound?

Experts: There are two regulators in the travel industry. Cash deals always have low protection. Card payment helps you with quick refunds also. At the same time while going to cashless mode, always check the company’s profile. If it has an IATA number, validate it, go to the regulator’s main website and check. You need to understand the terms and conditions also. Every ticket has different conditions. Just don't go for the price. The same ticket for the same destination can have different prices for a reason.

 

 

Q: Now that the Holiday Market is opening up, how will the industry fill the gap between the high prices and people being comfortable to travel and going forward?

Experts: Prices have gone up, you know why. If there are fewer flights, they want more money. Huge losses in the last two years and a shortage of staff are the main reasons. If everything goes well in the next couple of years, we will be able to fill the gap. And yes, prices always fluctuate in our industry, it's almost like the stock market would go on and on at a price and it's pulled down all day long. It is based on supply and demand. To go to a sound travel agent to get a proper understanding is advisable. If you were travelling now, the passports are taking up to 12 weeks to come back. Visa is taking much longer for the interview. So, don't book and pay when you don't have proper documents in hand.  

 

 

Q: When we will be having direct flights to Ahmedabad as per the pre-pandemic schedule?

Suhas Jadhav, Regional Manager of Air India said, “We have increased one flight, so as of now there are three flights operating to Ahmedabad. We will certainly try and increase the flights but it will take some time for normality. Airlines can never make a profit by selling economy-class tickets. They have to have a business or first-class to survive.  The corporates have not yet started flying. So, the travel pattern which we are looking for is only the family travelling.”

 

Q: Is travel insurance important?

Experts: We think it's important as well. When you buy any kind of holiday ticket, you must get travel insurance. Always advisable to check the service covered.


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