40th IATO Annual Convention Concludes in Puri

The 40th IATO Annual Convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) came to a close in Puri on August 25, with a strong focus on strategies to accelerate inbound tourism. The three-day event, held under the theme Rejuvenate Inbound @2030, brought together over 1,100 delegates including industry leaders, government officials, and tourism stakeholders.

The inaugural session featured addresses by IATO President Ravi Gosain, Sanjay Razdan, and Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Chhattisgarh Tourism Chairperson Mr. Nilu Sharma along with senior officials from the Odisha government. The release of the IATO Manual 2025 and the IATO Hall of Fame Awards 2025 marked key highlights of the opening day.

Ravi Gosain expressed optimism about the convention’s impact on Odisha’s tourism prospects. We hope that hosting 40th IATO Annual convention in the holy city of Puri will give Odisha wider visibility in both domestic and international markets, he said.

Deliberations during the convention centred on bridging information gaps between the government and industry, adopting new technologies, and preparing the sector to achieve realistic growth targets by 2030. One of the realistic figures for the Government of India is to achieve certain targets by 2047. But we know that 2047 is some distance away. So, the time of 2030 has been selected by IATO, which is Rejuvenate Indian Inbound Tourism by 2030. It is a realistic figure to upskill the entire IATO fraternity with the latest technologies and to understand how we are going to reach a realistic figure by 2030. Now, the important thing is also to bridge the information gap between the government and the fraternity in such a way that the government has a realistic understanding of the real problems of IATO, not only as members, but as a fraternity. And the skill sessions are designed in such a way that everybody is ready to try and achieve their goals of a realistic figure by 2030. At the convention, we focussed on building up the momentum of the international inbound tourism segment in such a way that we achieve a realistic target, said Harish Mathur, IATO Executive Committee Member.

The concluding day featured the IATO Run for Responsible Tourism to promote sustainable travel, followed by a business session on Innovative Products & Immersive Journeys. Moderated by Shoba Rudra of RARE India, the session highlighted the importance of preserving authenticity at destinations through local community involvement, expert research, and quality service.

Delegates praised the convention for combining informative discussions with networking opportunities. The sessions on data-driven growth and sustainability have been especially valuable, said Navneeta Singh Deo, co-owner of Gajlaxmi Palace, a heritage homestay in Odisha.

With Odisha as the host, the convention not only underlined the state’s tourism potential but also reaffirmed IATO’s commitment to strengthening India’s position in the global inbound tourism market.