Two important IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter meetings were held at Varanasi and Agra
The IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter conducted two significant meetings, one in Varanasi on July 21 and the other in Agra on July 26, 2024. Each event witnessed the participation of about 40 people, including many new members from the state who had joined IATO in the past year.
Prateek Hira, Chapter Chair of Uttar Pradesh, presided over the Varanasi meeting and had as Guest of Honour Rajendra Rawat, Deputy Director of UP Tourism. In Agra, Prateek Hira was joined by Sunil C. Gupta, Regional Chapter Chair, and the meeting included Deepti Vatsa, Regional Tourist Officer, and Harish Kumar from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
In both meetings, problems and issues faced by the members of Uttar Pradesh were discussed. Government officials and IATO leaders like Sunil C. Gupta and Prateek Hira also commented on the solutions and problems of the members. Sunil C. Gupta highlighted IATO’s achievements. He appealed to the members to register for the forthcoming IATO Convention slated for Bhopal. He also referred to the knowledge sessions to be held during the Convention, followed by familiarisation tours, which the members will highly benefit from.
Prateek Hira informed the members about government schemes. He guided them to benefit from them by merely registering with the state government. He further reassured the members that the concerns expressed by the members shall be actively taken up by IATO. During the Varanasi meeting, Professors Jyoti Rana and Pravin Rana of the Banaras Hindu University spoke about bridging the gap between academia and the industry. The IATO UP Chapter felicitated them along with Rajendra Rawat and Vikas Singh of Hotel City Inn, who sponsored the Varanasi meeting.
In Agra, a felicitation plaque was given to Sunil C. Gupta, Deepti Vatsa, Harish Kumar, Rajiv Saxena, and Royale Sarovar Portico Hotel management for sponsoring the Agra meet. Prateek Hira elaborated on the role of IATO in bringing about a policy change and optimum benefits to its members. Sunil C. Gupta requested the members to encourage local travel trade professionals to become members of IATO since it gave an excellent opportunity for necessary networking and learning.
After the meetings, Sunil C. Gupta and Prateek Hira met members individually during a networking tea and discussed their problems, besides motivating them for the IATO Convention in Bhopal from August 30 to September 2, 2024.
