Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Western Chapter in collaboration with Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) recently organised an education tour of Rann of Kutch for close to 100 travel agents and operators from Mumbai and Pune. It was one of a kind tour where members from multiple chapters – Western India, Madhya Pradesh, Pune and Gujarat met in Ahemdabad at the end of the tour for an evening with key members from GTDC.

“Kutch nahin dekha to kuch nahin dekha” so goes the tagline made famous by Amitabh Bachchan. True to these words is the mesmerizing destination of Kutch which all the attending members experienced first hand.

According to Jitul Mehta, Chairman, Western India Chapter; this was the first education tour of Rann Utsav at the Rann of Kutch organised by TCGL for any travel trade association in India.

The educational tour started from Ahmedabad and all the members travelled for 9 – 10 hours and reached Kutch city through three separate coaches. The stay was organised at the iconic Rann Utsav – The Tent City. The two nights itinerary included activities like stargazing, sunrise and sunset at Rann, visit to local villages like Gandhi Nu Gam and Nirona and a few other property visits.

The two nights tour was concluded in Ahmedabad with key members from TAFI National Committee and TCGL officials joining the evening event both physically and virtually.

 

Attending the event virtually, Alok Pandey, MD, TCGL said, “We understand the importance of collaborating and working with travel operators and associations. TCGL will continue working with TAFI and is looking forward to their feedback on the Kutch educational tour. We are here to listen and work on all the suggestions by our travel partners to make Gujarat the leading travel destination among domestic and international travellers.”

 

The corporation has also invited TAFI members to explore Saputara through an educational tour in August 2022.

According to Mehta and Kantawala, Gujarat Chapter played a crucial role in making the Kutch educational tour a success. It was the Gujarat Chapter that finalised and assisted in creating the itinerary and every detail of the tour to ensure that members are comfortable and made the most of this tour.

According to Sharma, the entire team of TAFI Gujarat Chapter has been proactive in the planning and execution of the Kutch educational tour.

We spoke to two of the senior TAFI members who visited Rann of Kutch for the first time and spoke about their experience.