Over 100 top Indian travel professionals here to attend IATO Outbound Convention

• Minister Amunugama will be the keynote speaker

On an initiative by Tourism Minister John Amaratunga, Sri Lanka was successful in its bid to hold the IATO Outbound Convention from 2-4 October in Colombo. 

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is the national apex body of tour operators with a membership of over 1,600 across India. IATO’s membership consists of the nation’s inbound tour operators, travel agents, hotel chains, airlines and other stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality industry. 

Their active members are recognised by the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of India.

IATO’s Annual Convention is probably the most important event on the Indian travel calendar and attracts between 1,200 and 1,400 delegates each year. It also attracts strong participation from other states of India as well as numerous senior dignitaries from the political and administrative arms of the central and state governments. The convention is the main gathering of stakeholders in the tourism industry and the grounds for forming strategies and policies for the coming year. The event also attracts widespread trade and mainstream media coverage.

IATO has diversified their scope of activities beyond Inbound Tourism by adding outbound products in their core activity areas. 

A special Outbound Tourism Council has also been constituted. In the first initiative, it has been decided by IATO to organise its first Outbound Tourism Convention in Colombo in the first week of October 2017 and they expect to bring about 200 outbound tour operators from India to Sri Lanka and highlight the diversity of the tourism products Sri Lanka has on offer for tourists. There will also be a B2B session with about 100 local industry partners of Sri Lanka i.e. inbound tour operators, hoteliers, etc. 

Sri Lanka is the Official Host Country for the IATO Outbound Convention 2017 in Colombo. The delegates of the event will be the top tourism industry professionals from across India. This will be an opportunity for Sri Lanka Tourism to showcase its variety and scope in tourism products and destinations.

The convention will be hosted by the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and this event is expected to stimulate more interest in Sri Lanka and thereby work towards the target of achieving one million tourists from India in 2020.