DRCape Town: The fourth annual convention of Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) held at Cape Town in South Africa from August 11 to 14 turned out to be a mega success with active participation of the delegates and meaningful sessions on the impact of digitisation on travel and tour industry. The theme of the OTOAI Convention was ‘Digitisation – The Way Forward’.
Over 175 delegates attended the event which had B2B sessions with local suppliers and meaningful sessions on the impact of digitisation on travel and tour industry
Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), the official destination marketing agency of the Gauteng City Region, hosted the welcome function on August 11, which was attended by senior executives from GTA including Angela Kays, Mputle Dikobe and Barba Gaoganediwe. The GTA team also made a detailed presentation on Gauteng region highlighting ‘authentic South African experience.’
Eminent speakers at various sessions of the convention included James Vos, Shadow Minister of Tourism, South Africa; Abhishek Shukla, Consul General, Consulate General of India, Cape Town; Sisa Ntshona, CEO, South African Tourism; Hanneli Slabber, General Manager – Asia / Australasia / Middle East, South African Tourism; and Neliswa Nkani , Hub Head, Middle East, India & South East Asia, South African Tourism. Malini Singh, Digital Customer Expert, and Greg Klassen, Principal, Twenty31 Consulting based in Vancouver, Canada, also spoke.
“Over 175 delegates attended the event and we had B2B sessions with local suppliers at the venue – The Taj Hotel in Cape Town. A three-night post-convention tour for members of OTOAI was conducted after the convention,” said Mahendra Vakharia, President, OTOAI.
According to Himanshu Patil, Vice President, OTOAI, and Convention Chairman, OTOAI expects outbound tourism from India to South Africa to grow phenomenally after the event. “This is because our members tend to push that particular destination after having visited it. For instance, after our convention in the Philippines, it saw a growth of about 37 per cent,” he informed.
The event also witnessed a session in Stellenbosch, where Anna Marie Ferns, CEO, Stellenbosch 360 – the official tourism organisation for Stellenbosch and surrounds – interacted with the delegates. Around 30 suppliers participated in the speed marketing session which followed. Responding to the issue of the water crisis that the mainstream media had reported, Vakharia said, “There is absolutely no problem with water there. Tourism has not been affected at all and the industry is more than equipped to handle this situation. We had a local partner helping us with the logistics.”
With over 2000 outbound tour operators and travel agents as its members and regional chapters around India, OTOAI aims at developing and promoting the highest ethical and professional standards in the travel and tourism industry. “We aim to foster an environment of collaboration with various stakeholders through our ideology of collective ambition,” said Gurdeep Gujral, Joint Secretary, OTOAI.
