India’s premier travel, hospitality and tourism magazine, Todays Traveller, celebrated its 25th anniversary, on October 18th, at a star-studded event at Taj Palace, New Delhi in the presence of Chief Guest Shri Amitabh Kant, G-20 Sherpa, Govt. of India.
The event witnessed a series of panel discussions and powerful addresses by leaders of the travel and hospitality industry, the cover launch of the Collector’s Issue of Todays Traveller Magazine, titled Champions of Change, as well as the distinguished Annual Todays Traveller Awards in the presence of more than 300 high-profile celebrities, dignitaries and industry leaders.
The event witnessed the noteworthy presence of eminent leaders from the Travel & Tourism industry like Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, EbixCash who has been one of the trendsetters and changemakers in the industry.
The evening began with a welcome address by Kamal Gill, Executive Editor, Todays Traveller Magazine, and Managing Director, Gill India Group. She spoke on how the emergence of leaders performing and progressing during the challenging times of Covid-19 has been central to the revival of business, especially in the sectors of hospitality, aviation, travel, and tourism. Their visionary leadership and strategic decisions have redefined what success means during challenging times – the idea of which has been encapsulated in the theme of the magazine: Champions of Change.
and Managing Director, Gill India Group
Up next was a panel discussion on women’s leadership in the hospitality and tourism sectors, titled Women Leadership Panel: Indian Hospitality and Tourism 2030 – Gear Up!
Panellists included well-known leaders like Jyoti Mayal – President TAAI and Director of New Airways Travel; Kanika Hasrat – Area Director – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Uttarakhand, and General Manager – Taj Lakefront, Bhopal; Meena Bhatia – Vice President & General Manager – Le Meridian New Delhi; Munnmunn Marwah – COO – India & UAE – Think Strawberries; Sabina Chopra – Co-Founder – Yatra Online Pvt Ltd; and Seema Roy – Area Managing Director – South Asia, Middle East & Africa – Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
The discussion was moderated by Anika Gupta, VP, Development, IHCL who engaged the panellists with astute questions and rounded off the discussions with rapid-fire quizzes.
The charming compere of the evening Shivani Wazir Pasrich presented the evening in her trade-mark eloquent fashion.
Couture Courtesy : Study By Janak – SBJ
A vibrant audio-visual presentation was made by Goa Tourism, the Gold Partner of Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Celebrations which showcased the many attractions of the beautiful State.
This was followed by a colourful video by Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Gold Partner Nagaland Tourism which highlighted the famous Hornbill Festival of Nagaland.
The curtain raiser was an address by Samit Garg, President, EEMA & Co-Founder, E-Factor Experiences, who spoke passionately on shaping 2023 with new-age events. The powerful presentation showcased the potential of tourism and events as a major driver of the economy in the coming years.
Next, Nathan Andrews, Advisor, DS Group, spoke eloquently on how retail spaces can be transformed into successful leisure destinations. The talk centred around developing new experiences and offerings for a demanding set of new-age consumers with quality and good service standards ensuring that the delivery is well curated.
The final panel discussion of the evening saw the conversation move towards the role of technology in the upliftment of revenue and ARR. Presented by Frontline Performance Group, the discussion was proceeded by an insightful address by Paul McLoughlin, International President, Frontline Performance Group, after which he joined the Panel discussion.
The discussion saw participation from hospitality leaders as panellists, including Puneet Dhawan – Sr. Vice President Operations, India & South Asia, Accor Hotels; Rohit Khosla – Executive Vice President Operations, North & West India, IHCL; Samir MC – Managing Director – Fortune Park Hotels Ltd and Director, Maharaja Heritage Resort Ltd and Zubin Saxena – MD & Vice President Operations, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group.
The moderator who ably curated the session was seasoned professional, Hemant Mediratta, Senior Partner, HM Corp who ensured a lively conversation with incisive questions on technology, revenue and ARR.
The much-awaited keynote address by Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, IHCL focussed on Change as a precursor of transformation and the setting of basic foundations so necessary to lead innovation and leadership with excellent instances from IHCL itself.
Chief Guest Amitabh Kant, G-20 Sherpa, Govt. of India
The cover launch of Todays Traveller took place in the august presence of Chief Guest Amitabh Kant, Sherpa –G20 and the former CEO of Niti Aayog, who was joined by Guest of Honour, Vinod Duggal, former Governor Manipur and Mizoram and former Director General of Tourism, GOI, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited; KB Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, RHG; and Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director, and CEO, IHCL.
This was followed by a brief and well-expressed address to the audience on the bright future that awaited the tourism and hospitality industry by Amitabh Kant, who also felicitated Todays Traveller on its Silver Jubilee, its long years of service to the industry and the distinguished Awards.
L to R: Shivani Wazir Pasrich, Kewal Gill – Chairman – Todays Traveller, Kamal Gill – Executive Editor & Managing Director – Gill India Group, Ruchi Kaul, Rajiv Kaul, V K Duggal – Former Governor of Manipur & Mizoram, KB Kachru – Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor RHG, Nakul Anand – Executive Director – ITC Limited, Ajay Bakaya – Managing Director – Sarovar Hotels, Puneet Chhatwal – MD & CEO – IHCL
In a moving ceremony, hospitality veteran and former President, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, Rajiv Kaul was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award by his peers and leading lights of the industry: Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Limited; KB Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, RHG; Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director, and CEO, IHCL, and Ajay Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels.
It was a wonderful moment which saw the senior-most leaders of the hospitality industry share their experiences with Rajiv Kaul amidst admiration and light-hearted banter.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the prestigious Todays Traveller Awards to the proud winners of this year’s honours by Chief Guest Amitabh Kant, Sherpa –G20 and the former CEO of Niti Aayog. The Todays Traveller Awards in various categories for the year 2022 recognised outstanding achievements in the field of travel, tourism, aviation, hospitality, and allied industries.
A certificate of appreciation on the occasion of the Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Celebrations was presented to Goa Tourism
A certificate of appreciation on the occasion of the Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Celebrations was presented to Frontline Performance Group.
The Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Celebrations was curated to perfection by talented Sheen Kundu who worked tirelessly with her team to do thematic research all the way through to successful implementation. A certificate of appreciation was presented to Sheen Kundu.
Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Celebrations Event Partner was the popular and well known company, EbixCash Meetings and Events which ensured a seamless experience of a high standard for guests to enjoy and remember.
The celebration started with a cake-cutting ceremony, presented by the Chefs of the Taj Palace hotel, New Delhi followed by cocktails and a gala dinner.
Todays Traveller Silver Jubilee Award Winners 2022
Lifetime Achievement Award: Rajiv Kaul
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