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Twenty-five travel agents in Punjab have been booked for illegally advertising employment opportunities on social media, said police on Wednesday. The action came after the Protector of Emigrants under the Ministry of External Affairs red-flagged the advertising on social media for jobs in foreign countries by such unscrupulous travel agencies. In a statement, Additional Director General of Police (NRI Affairs) Praveen K Sinha said these travel agencies were advertising jobs abroad without possessing the requisite licence and permissions. "We checked the online platforms, verified their credentials covertly and registered FIRs against them," he said, adding that a total of 20 FIRs have been registered under the Emigration Acts at various NRI police stations in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and SAS Nagar. The ADGP said this operation specifically targeted those illegal travel agents, who were advertising on online platforms, offering promisi
Travel agents body TAAI on Monday sought a slew of measures, including simple visa requirements and encouraging visa-free entry for tourists visiting India, rationalisation of GST rates and GST credit, and industry status for all stakeholders in the segment, among others, for the domestic travel and tourism sector, which contributes 5.8 per cent to the India's economy. "The Union Budget 2024 holds significant expectations for India's travel and tourism sector. India's travel and tourism sector contributes 5.8 per cent to the GDP and aims for a target of USD 1 trillion by 2047. We hope the budget addresses these priorities," Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) said. It said that these measures, if implemented, can significantly enhance India's travel and tourism industry, benefiting both businesses and travellers, it said. Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) in a statement also said that despite its various representations on concerns of ease of doing business, goods and
Hospitality technology platform OYO on Wednesday said it has witnessed over 150 per cent growth in travel agency enrollment in the financial year ended March 31. The company attributed the growth to the travel resurgence in India over the last few years, that widened business opportunities for travel agencies. A total of over 5,300 travel agencies across India worked with OYO in the financial year ended on March 31, 2023, compared to approximately 2,100 travel agencies in fiscal year 2021-22. The growth is equally distributed across all regions in India and supported by travel agencies of different sizes and scales, the company said. OYO has a large network of over 17,000 hotels globally. A large portion of these hotels are in India spread across 400 cities in India. "Collaborating with travel agencies is not just about expanding our reach, it's about cultivating a partnership that fosters mutual growth. "They play a crucial role in our business growth by distributing our hotel .
Amid uncertainty over tickets booked by passengers with crisis-hit Go First, a travel agents' body on Friday urged the carrier to make the refunds from the agents' funds deposited in a credit shell with the airline. The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has also urged Go First that the ticket refund amount be directly credited to the agents' bank accounts as many passengers are seeking refunds. TAFI, which has more than 1,400 members, in a letter to Go First CEO Kaushik Khona said that thousands of tickets need to be cancelled due to the suspension of flights. Go First has cancelled all flights till May 9 and has suspended sale of tickets till May 15. On GoFirst's website, bookings are available from May 23 but there was no official word on whether the suspension of ticket sales has been extended beyond May 15. "Hundreds of travel agents across the country have placed substantial deposits with your airline in a credit shell to be used for immediate and future bookings and w
Travel agents apex body TAAI on Thursday expressed its "disappointment" over the Union Budget for financial year 2023-24, saying that it does not meet any of its expectations or demands. TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India), however, said it applauds the Finance Minister's idea of promoting travel on a 'mission mode.' "With the Union Budget 2023-24, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has shown solidarity towards the tourism sector and has left the travel fraternity hopeful. However, there is a huge wave of disappointment among the travel agent fraternity as the budget holds nothing for this large section," the association said. The travel agents fraternity, according to TAAI president Jyoti Mayal, contributes 11 per cent of employment and generate over 10 per cent of revenue contributing to the GDP. "Nothing has been done to our request on ease of doing business, be it on TCS abolishment or ITC for tour operators on inter-state GST credit which is one of the main concerns ...