Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The three-days long 38 annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) will be inaugurated with hope that it proves a game changer for the local tourism industry and help enhance arrivals of domestic and international tourists in and around the city in future. The theme of the convention is ‘Inbound Tourism and Emerging Sustainable Trends.’
While addressing a press conference in the city, the IATO president Rajiv Mehra said, “ We all will vow to promote the Tourism Capital of Maharashtra as a destination of 4-5 days rather than dubbed as a two-day destination. The newly designed tour packages will encourage the tourists to spend two days in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, one day in Shirdi and two days in Nashik. We would also market the destination as the city with two airports (Aurangabad) and (Shirdi).”
The guardian minister Sandipan Bhumre, leader of opposition in Legislative Council Ambadas Danve, district collector Astik Kumar Pandey, Jitendra Kejriwal (Co-Chairman of Convention), Ravi Gosain (Vice President) and Sanjay Razdan (Secretary and Co-Chairman of Convention) were present on the dais.
Mehra also gave a word that the IATO members will put in their best to restore the old golden days in the city when the foreign tourists arrival was at its high peak, by next tourist season (2024).
Bhumre and Danve hoped that the convention would give a push to the local economy; boost the tourism industry; improve air connectivity; increase hotel accommodations, create job avenues for youths, etc. District collector said that it is a matter of great pride for him that the IATO convention is being held in the city and its impact could be seen in the years to come soon.
Razdan made an introductory speech and Gosain proposed a vote of thanks.
The co-hosts including chairman of Civil Aviation Committee (ATDF) Sunit Kothari, ATDF president Jaswant Singh, deputy director (Directorate of Tourism) Vijay Jadhav, regional manager of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) Deepak Harne and others were also present on the occasion.
Box
The chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, tourism minister Girish Mahajan, union minister of state Raosaheb Danve, guardian minister Sandeepan Bhumre, co-operative minister Atul Save, leader of opposition Ambadas Danve, principal secretary (Tourism) Radhika Rastogi, additional secretary (Tourism) Rakesh Kumar Verma and many others will grace the inauguration of convention on Friday evening. Around 1,000 members (hailing from different segments of the tourism industry like tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, tourism educational institutes, etc) are expected to participate in the annual meet.