OVER 500 DELEGATES FROM INDIA ATTENDED THE THREE DAY TAFI CONVENTION IN KUCHING, MALAYSIA

TT NEWS SERVICE

KOLKATA, 23 SEPTEMBER 2022

The three day convention of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) themed Build Back Better ended on 22 September at Borneo Convention Centre in Kuching of Malaysia.

Over 500 delegates from India participated in the convention which has been aimed to educate them  on the  efforts needed to build a more resilient tourism industry post covid -19 pandemic by promoting sustainable and responsible tourism practices, conservation and advanced greening efforts.

Talking to The Travel and Tourism Times, Mr. Anil Punjabi, Chairman (East) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said that it was a very successful convention, the venue was excellent , the business sessions have been very informative.

“ In the evening there was a Gala dinner and cultural events and all the delegates enjoyed the trip to Malaysia,” added Mr. Anil Punjabi.

Dialogue sessions and interactions between the industry players, government representatives and  travel agents took place from both India and Sarawak. Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) CEO, Mr. Sharzede Salleh Askor also spoke on the occasion.

Mr. Ajay Prakash, President of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI)  moderated  for the first session, which also featured VFS Global head (Environmental, Social & Governance), Smt. Elena Primikiri, Amadeus Asia Pacific Markets head, Mr. Sunil Joseph and World Travel Agents Association Alliance (WTAAA) chairman Mr.  Lars Thykier.

The other two sessions were Change the Tune (Looking beyond airlines) and The Big M in TourisM (Marketing and Magnifying Brands) which featured speakers and moderators from India, Malaysia and other international entities.

The over 500 TAFI delegates also participated in the Business-to-Business (B2B) events  with more than 60 Sarawak tourism-related organisations.

The Malaysian Travel Mart has been concurrently held and has been launched  by Tourism Malaysia deputy chairman  Dr Anil Jeet Singh Sindhu..

This is the third  time a TAFI convention has been held  in Malaysia. In the past, TAFI held conventions in Kuala Lumpur in 1999 and in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in 2007.

In the first seven months of this year there has been a 304 percent growth in visitor arrivals from India to Malaysia compared to last year.

TAFI with a membership of more than 1400 tour operators and travel agents account for approximately 70% of all outbound travel from India.

The TAFI Convention is supported by Tourism Malaysia, Sarawak Tourism Board, Business Events Sarawak, Malaysia Airlines, Batik Airways and Air Asia..