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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According to ICRA‘s latest report, India’s domestic air passenger traffic for September 2023 is estimated at approximately 122.7 lakh passengers, displaying a marginal decrease of about 1.3 per cent compared to August 2023 when it stood at around 124.2 lakh passengers.
Despite this slight dip, the data reveals a noteworthy year-on-year growth of approximately 19 per cent as compared to September 2022, which witnessed roughly 103 lakh passengers. Additionally, September 2023 also surpasses pre-Covid levels in September 2019 by approximately 7 per cent, when the traffic count was around 117 lakh passengers.
For the first half of FY2024, spanning from April to September 2023, the domestic air passenger traffic totaled around 753.79 lakh passengers. This represents a significant year-on-year growth of 20 per cent when compared to the same period in FY2023 (April-September 2022) when the traffic count was around 626.68 lakh passengers. Moreover, this figure is roughly 7 per cent higher than the pre-Covid levels witnessed in the corresponding period of April-September 2019, which stood at 703.93 lakh passengers.
Under this pricing structure, passengers booking IndiGo flights will incur a fuel charge, per sector, based on the sector distance. The decision comes after sharp increase in the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in recent months. The move is likely to prompt other airlines to follow the suit and start charging fee from passengers.
Furthermore, airline operators in September 2023 deployed a capacity that was around 10 per cent higher than the capacity deployed in September 2022. However, it is important to note that the current capacity remains slightly lower, by approximately 0.5 per cent, when compared to the pre-COVID levels of September 2019.In September 2023, it is estimated that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor (PLF) of approximately 89 per cent. This is a significant increase compared to September 2022 when the PLF was around 82 per cent and, more interestingly, it is marginally higher than the pre-COVID PLF levels of September 2019, which stood at around 86 per cent.
Additionally, in the fiscal year 2024, Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices exhibited a sequential decline up until June 2023. Subsequently, there has been a steady increase in ATF prices, with a 5 per cent hike in October 2023. This upward trend is significant as it marks the first YoY increase in ATF prices for FY2024, with a growth of 1.3 per cent in October 2023. This increase is attributed to the rising crude oil prices observed over the past four months.
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