Travel Agents Association of India

TAAI FAMILY EXPANDS

TAAI is proud to inform that we have recently opened our South TamilNadu Chapter with base in Trichy and our Nagpur City Committee. For details click on the links.

TAAI LAUNCHES FIRST EVER TRAINING INITIATIVE FOR MEMBERS

After a lot of brainstorming at the managing committee meetings about what TAAI could offer to its membership to tackle some of the burning difficulties faced by the industry, we came to a conclusion that the urgent need was to make our members better entrepreneurs capable of understanding future trends and demands of the travel industry.

After finalizing the area of focus for the training program that appeared to be a significantly tall task, the search for people who could facilitate the programme grew even tougher. With cancellations and propositions, offers and rejections … a team lead by Mr. Xavier Prabhu was chosen. So, the first of the several initiatives of TAAI to support their members’ efforts to “Embrace the New” was going to be launched.

The first test program was for the TAAI M C, Regional & Chapter office bearers who enrolled in a 2 day serious in depth training initiative titled “CATALYSE”. The training program was held on 29th & 30th March 2008 at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad where 42 persons from the entire country participated. The highly interactive program addressed subjects such as Mind Transformation Strategies, Transactional Analysis, HR, Alternate Hiring Strategies, Building a Brand, Marketing Strategies, Niche Marketing. It was very enthusiastically received and the members found it very interesting. You will all agree, dear members, that it has become imperative in today’s world to change the mindset and harness individual growth in order to forge successful careers in the travel industry. This was the prime subject matter of the program. Hitherto, the travel distribution role was performed by traditional travel agents and tour operators . They were supported by global distribution systems (GDSs) or tour operators’ videotext systems (or leisure travel networks). The Internet created the conditions for the emergence of interactive digital televisions and mobile devices selling direct on the Internet by allowing users to access the airline reservation systems, web-based travel agents and travel portals. This has gradually intensified competition further. As a result, traditional travel agents must reengineer their business processes in order to survive and remain competitive.

THE FACULTY :

Mr Advait Dikshit: His primary objective is to encourage people to step out of their comfort zone and succeed. He is an exceptional communicator. With over 7 years of experience & having touched over 3000 lives through his various workshops spoke on Self Renewal, Emotional Intelligence, Team building, Presentation skills, Assertiveness skills etc. His ability to integrate knowledge from diverse fields - right from Arts to Computer science helps him design modules for participants at all levels of the organization.

Mr Vivek Paranjpe: The former head of HR for the entire Asia-pacific of Hewlett-Packard has 32+ years experience in all facets of HR & strategic management. He has hands on experience of acquisitions, divestitures, downturn and major growth projects.

Mr Xavier Prabhu: Workshop lead trainer, facilitator and resource person for branding, brand expert and an entrepreneur himself. Every M C Member participated with a positive approach and what emerged was an excellent comprehensive thinking mode translated into open discussions and a wonderful sense of having achieved valuable knowledge.

Here are some post training comments for you.

Nilesh Shah, Chairman TAAI Goa Chapter : The Workshop organised by TAAI for office bearers on March 29th-30th 2008. was conducted beautifully. All 3 sessions were conducted brilliantly. Mr Advait Dikshit from the faculty conducted the program on leadership and basic management wherein emphasis was given on how to look forward in the business and your life. Mr Vivek Paranjpe was excellent on his HR tips wherein he gave the basics which all agents could take home and implement in their day to day activities. Mr Jay Xavier Prabhu gave an inside of marketing and branding our agency and emphasis on specialization and gave very good insight on competition with online portals vs. travel agencies.

G. Krishna, Hon. Secretary. TAAI - Pune Chapter (Travel Masters (Mumbai) Pvt. Ltd.) : The Training Programme conducted by TAAI was a eye opener for us. It made us realize that it’s high time we do business differently and effectively. The Training highlighted the need to shift our focus for the traditional ticketing business to other revenue generating areas. The Training also helped us to understand the need to build Brand and the benefits of the same.

Sunil Notani, Chairman, TAAI M P. & C G : It was a real in depth teaching about the cores of HR, and I personally feel what ever was discussed is 100% applicable. This training has also opened so many hidden things which we are not applying in our day to day business. I am very thankful to TAAI for such an event and it will prove very fruitful if TAAI can arrange these events on regular intervals to update us regarding international level. Finally this training will help us to do business professionally and profitably.”

RS Nishtala,Sky Travel, Guntur : The training held at the ISB Hyderabad was very informative and showed us various ways & means of organizing ourselves, our organizations and also redefining the approach to our businesses for the betterment of the same. It also gave us a scope of expanding our vision to see through the difficult times travel agencies are facing with the changing scenarios. Wish these sorts of trainings could be held even for the staff, who really mean something to the organizations to boost their morale too! TAAI Chairperson for Membership Services and Training, Mamta Nichani, who was instrumental in arranging this successfully is already planning such programs for the membership at large. The plan is to conduct this program at 3 or 4 cities in the country for the members.

MAKE SURE YOU PARTICIPATE !!!!