ADTOI’s 10th Annual Convention at Kevadia injects confidence and boosts the morale of its members
The 2-day physical event held at the Convention Hall, Tent City 2, was a first of its kind post COVID-19 and was supported by Gujarat Tourism and MoT. The convention was inaugurated on 12th February 2021 with the theme ‘Domestic Tourism–Hope for the Revival’ and saw around 400 people in attendance reflecting the will of the travel trade fraternity to reopen business.
With required protocols and safety measures in place, there could be no better place than the Statute of Unity, Kevadia, and no better occasion than the annual convention of ADTOI to spread this message. Kevadia is the right example of how tourism can touch the lives of people at every level. Kevadia has transformed into a complete family destination with all amenities. It has direct rail connectivity with major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Chennai, Rewa, and Ahmedabad to name a few. The Ahmedabad-Kevadia Jan Shatabdi also has the Vistadome Coach, which provides visitors a unique experience.
“Gujarat is a pioneer state looking at tourism seriously and doing all that is possible to showcase the state to the rest of India to experience incredible India. So we held the ADTOI 10th Annual Convention 2021 at Statue of Unity (SOU), which has become one of the upcoming major destinations in the country for domestic tourists,” said Chetan Gupta, Convention Chairman.
Arvind Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, and Rupinder Brar, Addl. Director-General, Ministry of Tourism were guests at the inaugural ceremony. Singh said that India has a robust domestic market which could soften the impact of COVID-19 as compared with nations that rely largely on international tourists. Post lockdown and as the control over the spread of pandemic is achieved, it is widely agreed that domestic tourism will recover faster than international tourism. He also added that the restrictions on travellers have been eased and interstate travel has started all across the country.
Rupinder Brar opined how Kevadia is an ideal example of how tourism can completely turn around the socioeconomic situation of a region, generating employment opportunities for thousands of tribals in and around the region.
The Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture, Prahlad Singh Patel also addressed his inaugural speech through a video message. “The slogan of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ by Prime Minister has given a boost to domestic tourism. If we work with well intentions and planning, we can achieve great things and this monument (Statue of Unity) is proof of that. You will get to see many such wonderful things in the Karmbhoomi of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said
Patel. He also emphasised that India should reach the top position from the 34th spot in tourism soon.
The second day started early morning with the ‘Ekta Marathon’ and many enthusiastic members participated in the run. During the day, business sessions were held with Arvind Singh speaking on the ‘Role of Aviation in Promotion of Tourism’ at the Convention. Singh, who in January 2021 took the charge of tourism secretary after over a year-long stint as chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) made the session interesting and worthwhile with his knowledge on the subject.
Also, many state tourism boards such as Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Kashmir gave their presentation about tourism in their state along with a presentation by MoT. Rupinder Brar moderated a session on ‘Technology is the Future-Travel Real from Virtual’. The panel had Debjit Datta, Malvinder Rikhi, Harish Chandra, and Dhananjay Sailankar who gave eye-opening insights on the topic. The session had lots more to discuss as technology is becoming a key driver in many tourism initiatives and the panel wanted every member to get technologically updated.
Mamta Verma (IAS), Secretary Tourism and Civil Aviation, Gujarat Tourism and Jenu Devan (IAS), Managing Director & Commissioner of Tourism, Gujarat Tourism also addressed the session and highlighted many aspects of Gujarat to indeed showcase it as an outstanding tourism destination in India.
‘Dekho Apna Desh, Leveraging Domestic Tourism’ session with Sudhir Patil, Swadesh Kumar, Vijay Mohan, Abinash Manghani moderated by PP Khanna also had wonderful insights on the subject.
The objective of this convention was to build public confidence to travel for the revival of domestic tourism in the country. The government, which has lost an entire tourism season to COVID-19 is now banking on domestic travellers to revive tourism and the iconic Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue, has set an example. More than 50 lakh visitors have come to see the Statue of Unity after it was dedicated to the nation (on October 31, 2018) and it is estimated that it will progressively improve as connectivity improves.
The second half saw participants depart to tour the destination. Now called Kevadia Tourism Sector and the landmarks other than the imposing statue include Valley of Flowers, Butterfly Garden, Ekta Nursery, Jungle Safari, Unity Glow, Arogyavan, Children Nutrition Park, and Cactus Garden. There are also discoveries such as cruising, river rafting, cycling, and night shows. The whole experience needs at least a 2-night stay and nothing better than the accommodation in 2 tent cities with nature to enjoy in an ideal setting beside the riverfront.
To conclude PP Khanna, President, ADTOI had the following to say, “I felt that the tour operators who have come here are very positive and they are very happy that at least ADTOI has opened the doors physically. For the last 11 months, with no business and people just sitting in their houses, there was no tourism in the country. After joining this convention, many tour operators had the opportunity to see Kevadia booming with tourism. If you really consider the SOP’s and the guidelines laid down by WHO and ICMR, there is no doubt that we can promote any destination, particularly the Kevadia Tourism Hub where they have taken all the care about all the protocols. All the tour operators are very happy and we are very hopeful that when they go back, they will promote Kevadia. The place has now become a unique and theme destination as only last year it was a one-night destination, but today it can be easily extended to 2 or 3 nights. Earlier, only the statue of unity was here, but shortly the government felt the need for other attractions and prompted the opening of jungle safari, cruises, and many theme parks.”