Prasenjit Chakraborty - Mumbai The current team that came in December 2019 saw its tenure marred by the pandemic that struck soon after
The current OTOAI team led by N. Chirag Travels’ Riaz Munshi is seeking an extension of a year and the proposal will be tabled at today’s EoGM that the association has called at Delhi’s Habitat Centre. Munshi and the current team were elected unopposed in December 2019, just before the pandemic struck, for the 2019-2021 term. Under the current leadership, the association had also announced its annual convention that was to take place in Turkey in March 2020 but was indefinitely postponed in view of global surge of Covid-19 cases.
Commenting on the extension that his team would seek, Munshi said, “Our aim is only to contribute and give back to the trade and we did not get that opportunity because of the pandemic. Also, we had already fixed the Convention but we could not do it. That is still in the pipeline. So in case the team changes then maybe that also affects. There are some investments there already and we have already had dialogues with them. We are on the verge of finalizing the dates. It is upto us and we are just looking for the right time to finalise the dates to organise the event.”
Furthermore, he said, “Also, I feel that right now there is no point of contesting election. We all have to work together. In case we get (more) time at least we can work for something. OTOAI is not political at all. None of us are for the posts. We all want to work and we collectively decide what we want to do. We want to see the industry go forward. We have been working with all the stakeholders very closely. We have been trying our best to give out latest information to all our members so that they know what is happening.”
Commenting on the same Engee Travels’ Vineet Gopal who is Joint Secretary of OTOAI, said, “This team came in in December 2019 and we hardly got two months to perform or to bring the vision what we had. So we will be going to the house for the extension and hopefully the house will be generous enough to grant the extension for one year. There are a few things the team had planned under Mr. Munshi presidentship and we want to implement them and that’s why we will be going to the house requesting them to give the extension.”
Gopal informed that amidst the raging pandemic that brought the global travel to its knees, OTOAI adapted quickly and soon changed gears. “Covid-19 pandemic hit every industry hard, and more so to ours. During this time our main focus was to impart knowledge through webinars, share information on latest travel situation or arrival/departure and visa related rules of different countries with the members so that members can take advantage of whatever opportunities bubble flights or destinations which are opened, offered. We are always in touch with our membership base in whatever way we can help them,” he informed. OTOAI has also waived off the annual membership fees during the time.
