The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) international convention, which concluded end of last month in Dubai had a list of first and also brought out the need for innovation and cooperation as the way forward for the industry. The convention held at Al Murjoo Rotana had a record participation of 1,000 plus delegates (including spouses) and for the first time had four Presidents (three past presidents) together on stage in the President’s Round Table analysing the deliberations of the business sessions. The three-day convention witnessed a mix of intense business sessions, lively networking parties and interesting tours to explore Dubai and its offerings.

The inauguration of the convention took place at the latest attraction of Dubai, Sky Bubble lounge located at Meydan Grand Stand overlooking the race course, part of the sprawling Meydan City project. In his speech during the inauguration, Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry, Director of Overseas promotions Dubai, Department of Tourism Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) spoke about the huge tourism potential and opportunity between India and the UAE and urged the travel trade to market Dubai as a leisure destination. The support extended by DTCM clinched Dubai as the convention destination. DTCM was aided by other partners like DVPC, Lama Group of Companies, Convention Hotels, Al Murjoo Rotana Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, Bonton Tours and Hotel Ramada Chelsea etc to ensure that delegates had a great time and experienced the destination fully.

Shashi Tharoor, MP and ex Minister of State External Affairs, Government of India set the stage for exploring the convention theme, ‘Coopetition-Key to Success’ in his key note address. “Coopetition is to think beyond the literal, the nuts and bolts. The trade should start thinking about the larger picture. Think differently to sell a place as an idea and not just as a destination,” he said. He gave the example of Kerala, which has two international literary festivals to tap new segment of Literary Tourism adding to its offerings of beaches, ayurveda etc. Tharoor also spoke about the need to create sub brands with Brand India. He felt that while ‘Incredible India’ campaign has been successful it does not include numerous facets of the fast developing country.

The Business Sessions over two days covered a range of important topics like ‘Opportunities for Bilateral Cooperation to Promote Tourism,’ ‘Clicks and Mortar-Friends of Foes,’ ‘New Era of Travel Distribution-GDS and Beyond,’ Confrontation or Cooperation-IATA, Airlines & the Agency Contract.’ Deliberations by eminent speakers like Amitabh Kant, CEO and MD, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor; Neil Mills, CEO, SpiceJet; Lars Thykier, CEO, Danish Travel Agents Association; E M Najeeb, President, Confederation of Kerala Tourism Industry; Carl Vaz, Director-India, DTCM; Michel De Blust, Sec. General ECTAA & Director WTAAA; Brett Henry, VP, Marketing International and VP India, Abacus International; Stuart Udy, Manager of Travel Agent Distribution APAC, Expedia; Keyur Joshi, COO& Co-founder Makemytrip.com; Manoj Chacko, Executive VP-Commercial, Kingfisher Airlines; Kiran Yadav, CEO Livewire Consultancy; R K Maheshwari, Ex. Additional Director General, DGCA etc. made the sessions very interesting and had large attendance.

“All of us sitting here are part of the travel trade family and need to work together and if we do, we can deal with issues of laws, taxation, errant airlines etc. There is also a need to look at new ideas and think out of the box,” stated Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, in his summation during the Presidents’ Round Table.

Carl Vaz, Director-India, DTCM during the session, ‘Opportunities for Bilateral Cooperation to Promote Tourism,’ requested agents to develop products that will set them apart and enable them to make profit and also cooperate with others instead of competing. He said India has been a resilient market for Dubai and the destination can be used to increase profit margins even in lean period and in a cluttered market. “There is an opportunity to bundle Dubai with other destinations. Price is no longer a barrier for Indians. Today you need to alter your package, add value and sell it at a better margin than your competition. The idea is to expand your base and focus on increasing yield by differentiation,” Vaz pointed out.

The convention was designed in a manner to allow delegates the opportunity to explore the destination and also to let them unwind with networking parties and gala dinners. One afternoon, delegates enjoyed the thrill of dune bashing and desert safari ending the experience with a gala dinner at the Desert Camp of Lama Tours co-sponsored by Kingfisher. A golf tournament was also organised for delegates the second afternoon. Spouse’s tours included attractions like Ski Dubai, Burj Khalifa, Wild Wadi, Jet Boating. Two nights and three days hotel accommodation in Dubai comprised the post convention FAM tour offering. Apart from this, prizes were given away during the convention. Prizes like lap tops, two Mumbai-Milan return tickets on Jet Airways, two tickets to any domestic destination on Kingfisher Airlines were given out through luck draws to those who attended the business sessions. The bumper prizes were two return tickets to the US on Etihad Airways and an all expense package of four nights/five days to South Africa.

The support extended by DTCM clinched Dubai as the convention destination and also went a long way in making the convention a success. DTCM was aided by other partners like DVPC, Lama Group of Companies, Convention Hotels, Al Murjoo Rotana Rose Rayhaan by Rotana, Bonton Tours and Hotel Ramada Chelsea etc to ensure delegates had a great time and experienced the destination fully.