TAAI – the oldest and largest travel tourism association in India had invited nominations from its members for the post of President, Vice President, Hon. Secretary-General, Hon. Treasurer, and seven Managing Committee members for the 2022-2024 term. The last date to file the nominations was September 15, 2022, and the withdrawal of nominations was September 23, 2022. And, for the first time in the history of TAAI, National Office Bearers and proposed Managing Committee members have been chosen unopposed for 2022 – 2024 as no nominations were filed to contest elections, challenging the current Office Bearers or nominations of MC members. The elections were scheduled for today i.e., September 29, 2022, in Mumbai where the team has once again taken over their positions.
Sharing views on the election process, Jyoti Mayal, who has been appointed as the President said, “We have done our best for the fraternity. We left no stone unturned and represented the travel trade on every front. Our hard work won us many accolades because TAAI’s relentless support to the travel trade and tourism industry has been appreciated at both national and international levels. Our presence at UFTAA, with Global Tourism Boards, with FAITH and state tourism boards as well as IATA shall certainly be more aggressive and interactive.”
Adding to that, Jay Bhatia, who once again continues as the Vice President said, “The team worked day and night despite challenges faced due to the unprecedented event like covid, which halted our industry. However, we ensured that the highest echelons hear our voice and that adequate support must be extended to our trade. I am thankful to all who have been there with us during the tough times, encouraging and supporting us. This term of 2022-2024 shall definitely see more endeavours from this committee especially with more interactions with the government and the airlines along with other stakeholder partners which shall benefit our members”
Bettaiah Lokesh, who too is continuing as the Hon. Secretary-General said, “Against all challenges, we worked for the benefit of the members. Members were paying their annual subscriptions and our responsibilty was to ensure that all statutory and regulatory compliances must be adhered to as per the law and meetings are conducted. Indeed, it was tough but we burnt the midnight oil and made the association strong and faced all such challenges and delivered our best.”
Managing finances was a tough call, however, Shreeram Patel, who is continuing as the Hon. Treasurer said, “We managed to run offices smoothly. The secretariat, both at Mumbai and Delhi offices, kept the channel of communication open with members with limited resources. The efforts put in by our team at the secretariat resulted in continuous membership subscriptions coming-in post COVID.”
Along with the Office Bearers, the following seven Managing Committee will play a crucial role in running the association smoothly. Anoop B Kanuga, Devesh Kumar Agarwal, Dr P Murugesan, Paras Lakhia, R Venkatachalam, Sameer Karnani, and Amish Desai who too were elected unopposed by the members of the Premier Association.
