Udaipur- The City of Lakes is hosting the 26th Annual Convention of IATO (Indian Association of Tour Operator) from 2 ^nd to 5 ^th of September 2010. The theme of the convention is “Tourism – In the New World Order”. With excitement in air, convention was inaugurated on 2nd September,Thursday starting with Ganesha Vandana and lamp Lighting.

Mr.Rajesh Mudgil, Convention Chairman, welcomed chief guest Mr.R.H.Khwaja, Secretary Minister of Tourism, Mrs.Usha Sharma,Principal Secretary Tourism, Govt.of Rajasthan, Mr. Pranab Sarkar, Vice President IATO, Mr.Devesh Chaturvedi, Additional Director General Ministry of Tourism and all other eminent guests, delegates and one and all present there in his welcome speech. He then stated key points of coming sessions which are global issues, sustainable tourism, innovative products and marketing plans.

Mr. Vijay Thakur, President IATO then enlightened the Accomplishments and Initiatives of IATO that are as follows:-

• VISA on arrival from 5 selected countries
• Introduction of seamless travel for golden triangular sector
• Sustainable Tourism
• Comprehensive entry tickets for ASI monuments
• Intra regional tourism
• Representation of India Tourism offices in Brazil, Russia and China
• Infrastructural Development
• Taxation: Logical and in tune with in sync across states
• New Hotels- with budget price rooms
• VISA fee rationalization and VISA on arrival for more countries
• International Air connectivity
• Setting up a permanent crisis management system for Tourism For Rajasthan
• Air connectivity for JAIPUR-UDAIPUR

According to UN-WTO (World Tourism Organization), India will stand second all over the world in Tourism industry by next decade.

Sec. Ministry of Tourism Mrs. Usha Sharma said “it is a great opportunity for Rajasthan, to host IATO convention in the state especially in beautiful city of lakes, Udaipur”.She stated following proposals for the Rajasthan:-

Following are the Proposals for Rajasthan:-

• Tourism Regulation Act
• Developing villages as model for tourist sites
• Hosting International Kite Festival and Hot Air Balloon Competition this year
• Major Flood Lighting at Kumbalgarh this year
• Additional security by adding more police personals
• New Tourism Policy on Investment to encourage entrepreneurs
• Introduce luxury trains after successfully starting Royal Rajasthan in 2009

Mr. R.H.Khwaja chief guest of this mega event had appreciated the efforts of IATO and said that Tourism is not a sole responsibility of any particular organization. It should start from ISR i.e. Individual Social Responsibility and then should move towards NSR i.e. National Social Responsibility. He ended his words by saying ” Jahan Hai To Jaan Hai” reversing these popular lines.

Release of IATO Manual and IATO Hall of Fame Award were two main attractions.Hall of Fame was awarded to Mr. Sujit Banerjee, retd. Secretary Minister of Tourism. He gave beautiful message in five short points. Be Courteous, Be Clean, Be Eco, Be Complete and at last stand and say “I am Proud To be an Indian”.

Thanking speech was delivered by Mr. Arjun Sharma, Sr. Vice President – IATO. Inauguration of Indian Tourism Fair and cultural programs by Kingfisher/UB Group in evening added colors to convention.

With the captivating beauty of Udaipur these days, the tourism industry of Udaipur is hoping bigger rewards to be offered. Not only industry but the tourists and the local citizens are also excited about the event and its hopeful positive implications.

In coming sessions, we hope to see more interesting news and information from IATO Convention in Udaipur.