The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) has announced its 39th annual convention, which will take place in the capital city of Madhya Pradesh from August 30 to September 2, 2024. The annual mega gathering of the association will be supported by the Government of Madhya Pradesh and MP Tourism. The last IATO Convention in the state took place in 2015 in the city of Indore.
Last year in October, the association has signed an MoU with MP Tourism to explore the possibility to host convention in 2024. This convention is anticipated to be a significant milestone for the tourism industry, emphasising the strengthening of ties between Madhya Pradesh and IATO.
IATO team led by Rajiv Mehra, President, Ravi Gosain, Vice President and Mahendra Pratap Singh, Chairman – IATO Madhya Pradesh Chapter met the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Dr Mohan Yadav and invited him to inaugurate the event.
Sheo Shekhar Shukla, IAS, Principal Secretary, Tourism & Managing Director and Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Bhopal also accompanied the IATO delegation.
The CM has reportedly accepted the invitation and assured full support from his office and Madhya Pradesh Tourism. The delegation also met Shukla separately to get his consent and finalise other details related to the convention.
Preparations are in full swing to transform the inaugural Navratri festival at the Ayodhya temple, following the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol earlier this year, into a grand and momentous occasion. The event is expected to draw a significant influx of religious tourists from all corners of the country. Varanasi alone saw a record-breaking influx of 95.63 lakhs pilgrims in the month of March.
Mehra said that the association is delighted to host the IATO Convention in MP after 9 years. “The 39th IATO annual convention will be held with great pomp and grandeur thanks to the support of Madhya Pradesh Tourism,” he added.IATO organises it annual convention every year in different cities to promote tourism to the state through its large membership base pan India. IATO has so far organised 38th conventions in different states. “All those states wherever IATO conventions were organized, they have been highly benefited with the increase of 30-35 per cent in foreign and domestic tourist arrivals,” said IATO in its statement.
There will be various events and activities taking place during the convention such as business sessions, tourism mart, marketing innovation competition, Run for Responsible Tourism, cultural evening, social functions besides the inaugural function and valedictory session.
Gosain mentioned that like every year IATO is expecting participation of about 20 state tourism departments and 900 – 1,000 travel and tourism industry stakeholders from all over the country.
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Six heritage sites in Madhya Pradesh have been included in the tentative UNESCO list. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav congratulated the people of the state for this, he announced on social media.
Many important sites of Madhya Pradesh have been included in the tentative list of UNESCO. The sites included in the new list included Gwalior Fort, the Historical Group of Dhamnar, Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple, Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley, Khooni Bhandara, Burhanpur, and God Memorial of Ramnagar, Mandla, the chief minister said on X.
Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Srivastava said, “In 2010 efforts were started to include the underground water structure Khooni Bhandara in the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage. In 2013, a UNESCO team came to see this structure. All the shortcomings pointed out by them were rectified. Now the district administration, municipal corporation administration and Madhya Pradesh government have prepared an action plan to provide facilities here given the possibility of domestic and foreign tourists and researchers visiting the place shortly.”
UP Tourism Minister Jaiveer Singh expressed the state’s ambition to become the top destination for foreign tourist arrivals, leveraging its leading position in domestic tourism. He highlighted Uttar Pradesh’s safety, robust infrastructure, and rich cultural heritage, emphasising the state’s readiness to showcase its tourism potential to the global audience through UPTM.
Burhanpur’s BJP MLA Archana Chitnis described the inclusion of Burhanpur’s historical Khuni Bhandar in the UNESCO World Heritage list as a big achievement. She said that it was conceived in 2006, efforts for it were started in 2010, and a UNESCO team inspected it in 2013.”When I came to do the same, they told me that there is no approach road here to include Khooni Bhandara in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. To overcome this deficiency, we sanctioned special funds from the government and got the approach road constructed along with the construction of a railway over a bridge which is nearing completion. Now the name of Khooni Bhandara should be included in the permanent list and an action plan is being prepared to provide facilities for potential incoming domestic and foreign tourists and researchers,” she added further.
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