Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai The association to open 2 new Chapters later this year
The TAFI Western India Chapter, for the first time, hosted a table-top networking session ‘Stakeholders Showcase’ for its members with nine exhibitors offering an insight into their products and services. The event was held at the Jade Ballroom in Worli, Mumbai, last evening.
Such a niche format of the programme, a first-ever for the association, was aimed at bringing about knowledge-sharing in a comfortable set-up, unlike travel trade exhibitions where the scale of meetings is larger. The exhibitors included airline consolidators, DMCs, hotels, and OTAs.
Talking about this initiative, Jay Kanthawala, Chairman, WI Chapter, TAFI, said, “Through this one-to-one table-top set-up, we aim to offer our members the opportunity to gain product knowledge in a closed door format where communication is constructive, and not restricted due to time constraint. Such a comfortable format will allow our members to be more communicative and empowered with better knowledge and networking opportunities.”
Sharing his views on hosting this session immediately after OTM & SATTE, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, said, “This is a smaller, niche set-up for our members allowing for better quality meetings unlike a large-scale commercial show. Other Chapters will take a cue from the outcome of this programme, and replicate the concept in their regions.”
Shedding light on his plans for the association at large, Prakash said that they have launched a membership drive to increase their base from 1,400 agents since the number of IATA-accredited agents in India is almost 3,000. “We also have plans to open 2 new Chapters this year, and the names of the destinations will be revealed soon.”
