"India without Barriers" ITTA Convention 5 August

New Delhi:NKsagar-Sagar Media :-Notwithstanding the magnificence,glory uniqueness and the wonder that India is,the flow of tourism to the country is getting hampered by man made problems.. Indian Tourist Transporters Association (ITTA), is one of the apex association representing tourist transport service providers involved to promote tourism in India,to hold its annual ITTA convention on August 5, 2010 at Hotel Ashok, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.The theme for the third conventions is India without Barriers: A New Beginning to take up issue on abolition of multiple octori taxes road, toll and passenger tax on tourist vehicles to be main agenda of the discussion at the convention. .

India suffers from an image problem,where foreigners complain of the dirt in public places,poor maintenance of public utilities,and travel which becomes a les pleasurable acitivity because of barriers involved in movement from one state to the other.

A traveler in Europe often does not even come to know when he has moved from one country to another,so seamless are the borders
in the European Union.
"Foreigners are often puzzled as to whether India is one country,or is many nations.While some of these problems are inherent in a country of continental sized dimensions,for the geography,climate and food habits are so very different,but others are issues like multiple tax barriers which become all so apparent while moving over from one state to another." says Mr Sarabji Singh,president of ITTA, the apex body of tourist transport service providers."Imagine the image that a tourist forms when he sees bribes being given and taken at the interstate barriers,Mr Sarabjir Singh says.

Notwithstanding the magnificence,glory uniqueness and the wonder that India is,the flow of tourism to the country is getting hampered by man made problems,some of which are administrative in nature and others entailing interstate resolutions.Hence Convention to discuss on issues pertaining to traffic police and need of fitness certificate for brand new commercial cars and MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) parking tax on tourist vehicles.

The association is expecting Rahul Gandhi, at Convention and other eminent personality, a keynote speaker. Kumari Selja, Union Minister for Tourism to inaugurating the convention. Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi along with state ministers and officials from tourism, transport department, tourist transport service providers to attend convention. ITTA will also bring out 'ITTA Convention Manual' at the convention.

The Conference is to organising four business sessions during the one-day convention. The first session titled- 'Is your business profitable? Find Out' will have presentations made by their knowledge partner Mr Bharat Chadha, Financial and banking professional on business viability 0and ICICI Lombard on insurance issues.

The second session titled-'The Way Forward' will have Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister, Delhi, A K Walia, Finance Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi; Arvinder Singh Lovely, Transport Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi; Sarab Jit Singh, President, ITTA, Rajesh Loomba, Chairman, Convention Committee, ITTA; Sanjay Kothari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and RK Verma, Secretary cum Commissioner - Transport, Government of New Delhi as speakers.

The third session titled-Seamless Travel - Removing the bottlenecks' will have Devesh Chaturvedi, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and Anand Prakash, Director, Ministry of Surface Road Transport as speakers.

The fourth session titled- 'Strengthening the Partnership' will be an interactive session during the convention. Referring to the association's other plans; Singh informed that ITTA is planning to provide feeder bus services at metro stations in New Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) to offer better travel convenience for metro passengers. However, planning of the same is under process and the association is intending to send a proposal immediately to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for this purpose.