President of Sri Lanka and PM to grace 67th TAAI Convention in Colombo

The President of Sri Lanka H.E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the Chief Guest at the opening ceremony of the 67th Convention of TAAI, being held in Colombo from 6th-9th July’23. He shall be addressing the delegates and welcoming them to Sri Lanka.

H.E. High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Mr. Gopal Bagley shall also be present and shall be gracing the inaugural ceremony, addressing the delegate members of TAAI.

Hon. Prime Minster of Sri Lanka, Mr. Dinesh Gunawardena shall be a part of the event on 7th July’23 and the event celebrations and the dinner is being hosted at Lemon Trees, The Prime Ministers Residence for all delegates of the Indian Travel Congress.

As the date for the upcoming 67th TAAI Convention and Exhibition in Colombo draws closer, the Association has lined up an interesting and invigorating mix of Knowledge Session and Speakers, who will keep the delegates engaged during the Convention. Scheduled to take place from July 6 – 9, 2023, the Convention has received overwhelming response and the delegation size has 500 stakeholder member partners from India.

Speaking about the focus of the Convention, Mrs. Jyoti Mayal, President TAAI says, “The focus of the Convention this year is completely Futuristic. The pandemic is done and over with. While it was tragic, brutal and truly devastating, the time is now right for us to move forward. When we are talking about Transcending Borders, we refer to the crossing borders of countries because Tourism doesn’t need any borders. Tourism brings prosperity and peace to every country and it is a highly economic driven sector, which is the backbone of every country. But we at TAAI, would like go beyond the Transcending Borders, because even in life, you have to transcend all your thoughts and literally break the glass ceiling and this is where tourism in going. Tourism is changing dramatically. People are not interested in the same type of travel. They are looking for new adventures and fresh destinations. So just as you have evolved, your mind needs to evolve too. We need to focus on how growth can happen and not live in our past. We need to Transcend minds to Transform lives.”

The Business Sessions lined up for the Convention will focus on topics - ‘India Tourism Vision 2047: A Transformed Landscape of Experiences and Connections’; The boundless potential of the skies; Experiential Travel – A Paradigm Shift in Tourism; NEXTAAI – The TAAI Members’ Technology initiative; Differentiating Travel – Perspectives from Industry Experts; Transcending Borders – Strengthening International Relations for a Transformed World and TAAI – The Road Ahead.

Some of the Speakers includes Mr. Arvind Singh, former Secretary Tourism, Government of India; Mr Madhavan Menon, Managing Director, Thomas Cook India Limited; Mr. Nipun Agarwal, Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Air India and Mr. K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor – South Asia, Radisson Hotels Group, Mr. Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, FAITH; Mr. Pieter Elbers, CEO Indigo; Mr. Amitabh Khosla – Country Director - India, IATA; Mr Praveen Iyer – Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air; Mr. Rajeev Bhatia – Chief Commercial Officer, Amadeus India; Mr. Vinay Malhotra – Head of Global Sales, Indigo; Mr. Richard Nuttall – CEO, Sri Lankan Airlines; Mr. Kapil Kaul, CEO and Director, CAPA India; Mr. Ajeet Bajaj, Mr. Dev Karvat – Founder and CEO Asego Insurance; Mr. G B Srithar – Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board; Commander Nevil Malao - Senior Vice President, JM Baxi & Co.; Mr. Noel Swain, COO – Passport, eVisa, Identity & Citizen Services, VFS Global; Mr. Sandeep Dwivedi – CEO – InterGlobe Technology Quotient and many more.

On the final day of the Convention, there will be Special Address by Mr. Harin Fernando, Honourable Minister of Tourism and Lands, Sri Lanka.

Mr. Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI shares, “Our convention will serve as a conduit for fostering stronger bi-lateral relationships between India and Sri Lanka. With around 200 Sri Lankan tourism stakeholders participating in the B2B sessions, we expect this event to be a fruitful venue for networking and establishing strong business relations. Such interaction is vital in harnessing the growth of inbound and outbound travel from India and channelling it towards destinations that offer new, exciting experiences.”

Concluding, Mrs. Mayal adds, “The Indian market will undoubtedly become one of the most sought-after markets globally, given the immense potential for outbound travel. As we all prepare to gather in Colombo, let us seize this opportunity to explore these trends, share our insights, and work together to shape a future where travel transcends borders and truly transforms lives.”