The nineteenth annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), an apex body of the tourism trade with a membership of over 4,000, will be held Ramoji Film City here from Apil 27 to 30.
To be hosted by the governmnt of Anhra Pradesh as partner state, the convention will focus on " Look Towards South" theme. The convention will be attended by about 1,300 delegates, of which 500 are from South, said Maharaj Wahi, the chairman of IATO.
Besides delegates from the travel industry, the tourism ministers and officials of some of the state governments would participate in the deliberations during the convention, Wahi said. "Now there is a percetible change in the attitudes of both state and central governments on tourism industry.
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With the governments accepting tourism as an ecnomic activity, we see a real turnaround for the tourism industry in the country" Wahi said. In South, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have already taken lead, while Karnatak is on its way, he said and observed that tax structure in Andhra Padesh was hindering the growth of the tourism activity to some extent.
The convention provides an opportunity for the state tourism department to showcase the tourist places in the state before the tourist operators, said Chandana Khan, the tourism secretary of the state goverment.
The state government has granted an amount of Rs 20 lakh for the convention. "Trditionally, North India has been the tourism hub since it has a tourist circuit with many centres of attraction. Now, South is also loking up.
If we can circuit the tourist places in the Southern states, we can do much better", Chandana khan said. She hoped that certain isses that were blocking the tourist promotion in South would be taken up and sorted out during the conference since tourism ministers from these states are expected to participate in the deliberations.