TAAI Affirms Solidarity With Sri Lanka

Thrust For Change Unanimously Celebrated

Bhisham Mansukhani - Colombo

TAAI's 54th Convention was off to an ominously sanguine start as speakers and listeners alike set the tone at the inauguration at the BMICH, affirming their faith in Sri Lanka as a destination they stood by and agreeing to implement the changes imperative to see them beyond the decade. While TAAI president, Balbir Mayal and Udaya Nanayakkara, chairman, Sri Lankan Tourism Board stressed the need for the Indian travel agent to embrace a future where they would not have to depend on the airlines, Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka Nirupama Rao and Arjuna Ranatunga, deputy minister, tourism, Sri Lanka, paid rich tributes to the model of joint cooperation that was India and Sri Lanka.

The evening was not all serious talk, as the Sri Lankan Dancers Guild put on a stunning display of ethnic fare for a packed audience. The dances peppered the addresses efficiently although the speakers, themselves, had the audiences cued in. Ranatunga one of Sri Lanka's most prolific cricketers, said that India and Sri Lanka's cooperation on the tourism front could be extended to a larger partnership on the SAARC level, thereby lifting the whole region. He believed that an integrated approach towards a more liberal aviation policy, eased immigration and better airport infrastructure could increase inter-regional tourism as well as bring in more tourism from the West.

Mayal affirmed his association's solidarity with Sri Lanka, particularly during the torrid times in the aftermath of the tsunami late last year. Alluding to the theme of the convention, Mayal said that the very nature of travel is about change and it is essential that travel agents embrace it. "India is changing in every positive way possible. The country's GDP is growing at seven per cent Inflation is at a benign three per cent and our foreign exchange reserves have ballooned to more than 140 billion. The sensex is at an all-time high and the middle class that is driving this growth constitutes more than 300 million individuals. All this has not gone unnoticed on the international front. WTO has predicted an annual compounded growth for Indian tourism of over 20 per cent and the well-regarded Conde Nast Traveller ranks India as the 9th most favoured destination." He quickly tempered the euphoria with a reminder of the imperatives. "The travel agent must emerge as a single window travel consultant and the traveller must derive more value from the agent than just the ticket," he said. On the front of regional cooperation to increase tourism, he said that TAAI had suggested that SAARC countries could consider accepting each other's currency in the current absence of a common currency to encourage and facilitate travel. "Another major need is for the industry to raise its voice in union and in that direction TAAI has proposed the formation of a joint council comprising the heads of all travel trade associations to communicate with the government," he said.

Further highlighting the example of regional cooperation that India and Sri Lanka had set, Nirupama Rao, India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka pointed to the fact that TAAI's fourth convention in Sri Lanka in 54 years, represented a resounding vote of confidence in Sri Lanka. India accounts for the single largest tourism arrivals into Sri Lanka - about 20 per cent. "The two governments have also played their role in this regard. Indian tourists have been granted visas on arrival while India has liberalised its aviation policy for Sri Lankan Airlines as a result of which, it is the largest international carrier operating out of India, operating 90 flights a week.

Keynote speaker, Nanayakkara, delivered perhaps the most poignant message to the agents, unequivocally exhorting them to carve a permanent identity independent of the airlines simply because the product that the two were selling is different. He went to great lengths to illustrate the benefits that travel agents could derive from a zero commission regime and by diversifying into other travel-related services. "70 per cent of the travel business outside of the US is done on a non-commission basis and if one considers that 100 per cent of America's travel business is conducted on non-commission basis, the verdict is obvious. In fact, recently, Finland's travel agents recently urged their government to move towards a zero commission regime. Indian travel agents must achieve independence in this regard by offering a more rounded product that includes other products that are critical to the travel experience and value in the form of consultancy."

In short, the upbeat mood of the inauguration set the pace for the critical transition that the travel agent will make over the next few years.