Kolkata: After the real estate convention that was held in the city last weekend, Kolkata will host a mega travel trade convention on the weekend after Durga Puja.From Oct 25 to 27, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), which turned 75 this year, will organise its 69th convention in the city with 700 delegates set to attend the event, including 100 from abroad. Among the invitees at the convention are chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, urban development minister Agnimitra Paul, Union tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and Union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar.This is the first time in several years that TAAI is organising the event in India and follows PM Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce foreign travel in order to conserve foreign exchange outgo. The past three editions of the TAAI convention were held in Abu Dhabi, Colombo and Singapore. The last TAAI convention held in India was in 2018 in Srinagar.“The convention will have business-to-business interactions between airlines, travel agents and hoteliers as well as opportunities to upgrade technologies. There will be an award night where veterans and pioneers will be recognised. But it is what happens beyond the event that will be of much significance for Kolkata and the rest of Bengal,” said TAAI regional chairman Anjani Dhanuka.“TAAI Kolkata chapter will use the opportunity to promote Kolkata as a major destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) as well as a tourist place for foreigners,” said Dhanuka.In the rest of the state, visitors will be taken to Ayodhya Hills in Purulia, Digha, Sundarbans, Darjeeling and Mayapur to give them a taste and feel of the diverse tourist destinations on offer.
