20 January,2011 07:13 AM IST | | Surender Sharma
Tourism department to have a cell to deal with complaints against travel firms
For those who feel that they are often cheated by travel firms, there is a good news. You will not have to run from pillar to post to file a complaint against the 'cheater' travel agent or get compensation for the bad time you had on your holiday because of the greedy travel agent or tour operator.
Soon, Delhi will have a single agency to deal with the complaints related to travel firms, tour operators and others related to hospitality industry. A senior Delhi government official told MiD DAY that a special cell will be created in the tourism department which will deal with the complaints filed by consumers against the travel firms. "Government is in the process of the finalisation of guidelines for the travel firms in Delhi. Within next one month, registration will start and after that only those firms who will abide by the guidelines will be able to carry out business in the city," said the official.
After the registration process, the Delhi will have actual data of the firms along with the requisite details.u00a0 So, far the unscrupulous travel agents and tour operators used to escape from the punishment due to multiplicity of agencies.
"There was no clear agencyu00a0 to deal with the complaints against these firms. While they had to register with the Delhi transport department, tourism activity in the city was conducted by the Delhi Transport and Tourism Development Corporation and apart from that some other agencies affiliated to the Central government. Most of the firms are not registered as per the government of India norms but are still doing business in Delhi. With the finalisation of these new guidelines, only those who will have requisite infrastructure will be able to do the business," said the official.
"Delhi has places of historical, cultural and religious importance of tourist interest. At the same time the travel and tourism from Delhi spills into the neighbouring States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, J& K and Rajasthan. So, it is imperative of the government to come up with stringent laws to avoid cheating," said, SP Singh, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).
While the number of travel and tour operator firms would cross five thousand mark in the city, sources in the government say around 200 such firms in Delhi have recognition from tourism ministry while those who are registered with city administration can be counted on fingers.
| What the firms will have to do? |
| Firms will have to submit financial status (balance sheet and profit and loss account), income tax clearance certificate, details of activities undertaken by the firm including volume of tourist traffic handled by it, its clientage, amenities arranged for foreign tourists, steps taken to promote domestic tourism, promotional /publicity activity, branches of firms in the country, overseas branches, list of approved tourist guides by tour operator, its tie up with airlines / carriers along with registration, parking space for its vehicles, name of drivers, particulars of vehicles along with their model and registration number to tourism department. |
