Published on: January 24, 2023 @00:22
Reporter: Aniruddha Pal
SPT News, Kolkata, January 23: On 19th and 20th January 2023, Global Panorama Showcase or GPS was an amazing event organized at The Lalit Great Eastern Hotel in Kolkata. GPS appeared with their entire team in Kolkata. And it was there that Sangbad Prabhakar Times met Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand, Managing Director of GPS Private Limited. In an exclusive interview, Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said that GPS is the point of interact for India’s Tier-II and Tier-III forces. It is mainly related to travel and tourism industry. The interview brings out their objectives, goals and of course the expansion of the travel and tourism industry.
Purpose of GPS
About the purpose of GPS, Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand told SPT in an interview – “GPS has been started since 2013. We hold events in 13 cities across India. Business to Business i.e. B2B event is held in these 13 cities. It is related to travel industry. Its objective is to empower and educate travel industry and travel focused professionals. Actually these events are held in tier II and tier III cities. Tier II and III refer to small towns like Cuttack, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Rourkella, Jaipur. And Tier One has cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi. Small towns like these in the North-East often don’t know much about the travel industry. Airlines, tourism boards – they stay in-secured online. I hold these meetings on how to empower them, how to connect them.”
What topics are discussed in GPS meetings?
Various organizations from various sectors related to travel and tourism participate in this event. They present their products in front of everyone. We discuss what travel agents and tour operators can do to grow their business. Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said. At the same time, he added – on the first day we hold an event on education, where a travel consultancy agency gives a presentation on one aspect. Besides, GST, taxes are also discussed. Which is very relevant today. TCS, which is a very burning issue these days. We highlight those issues. At the same time, the tourism board also makes a presentation about their tourism here. Visit Britain, Norwine, Next Cellular are with us. Many such tourism related topics are highlighted here. Travel agents and tour operators can learn a lot from this, which can help them in their business. In case of air ticketing, they can take advantage at the same place.
What kind of system is GPS, how much benefit it will get in the travel industry
Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said – “Slowly Artificial Intelligence or AI is coming. It is going to create a system where you can easily reach many organizations at once. The old system was very complicated. Which not everyone can operate. 50 year old system in every airlines. Now it is becoming useless. New technology is coming in a new way. The system will tell you how frequently the consumer travels on the airline. Based on that can tell you that you can fly on these airlines. Tickets may be cheaper on other airlines but with this system you get extra baggage allowance and even rest benefits. So this system will give you a lot of benefits.”
“In fact, more than 30 airlines will come alongside them. Travel agents and tour operators can start booking tickets through it. Generally, from IndiGo, AirAsia, Air India, to book tickets of multiple airlines, you have to go to their website. But in this system of NDC they will get the facility of booking tickets of more than 30 airlines at the same place. A single platform, which is a distribution system. By bringing all the airlines into one place, they only provide technology benefits. Acts as a bridge between the agent and the airline.” Added by Harmandeep Singh Anand.
What about studying abroad?
Now many boys and girls are moving abroad to study abroad. There is a lot of work going on in the travel industry. Trans Globe is one such company. Who are doing this very well. Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said, “Trans Globe gave a presentation. They have tie-up with over a thousand universities. UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, US are the main places. They also have contacts in Switzerland, Germany. It is a great opportunity in Bengal. Many students go to study abroad from here. So now it is a big platform in terms of providing such opportunities. They are studying in other states within our country. But they don’t know anything about going abroad. In that case TransGlobe is showing them the way.”
Future plans
“We are holding this event in 13 cities across India. After that we are going to Bhubaneswar from here. Then there are Nagpur, Lucknow. There are Chandigarh, Patna. In the second phase we will visit seven cities. In 2023 we are organizing this event in total 13 cities. The list includes – Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Indore, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Ahmedabad. In these cities we will organize GPS events from July to November. The flagship will be there when the event is held in Nagpur. And from that time the 10th edition will start,” said Mr.Harmandeep Singh Anand.
What is the purpose of GPS?
“We have gone completely paperless since 2016. Our platform is completely paperless. There are no brochures, paper endorsements. We do not issue visiting cards. We have taken technology to a new level. A new platform has been given to the exhibitors. They can stay connected even after the event. You will see here, we have eliminated plastic, pen-pencil, paper. Here we have introduced digital display, digital marketing completely. At the same time creating a green and strong environment.”
Introduction to GPS
Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said – “We did the last event in 2020. Then it was closed for three years due to Corona. Last time we did it in Nagpur. At that time the industry suffered a major blow. Many people have left the industry. Many people died. Our travel and tourism industry has been affected by 65 percent due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who left the industry in this situation will take time to come back. Many people have also left the hotel industry. Shortage is everywhere. It will take at least two years for the new generation and new staff to arrive. Efforts are underway to do more with the resource list here. GPS has an important role to play in that regard. This is how our partners come in to promote their products.”
How will the G20 affect tourism?
G20 will get a big exposure in the country. All the people coming to India from abroad will give more exposure to our country. More opportunities for tourism will increase. It will take time. As the business revives, as the airlines grow, everything will continue to happen. Because all these things are very important to be rational, said Mr. Harmandeep.
Domestic tourism
“We are operating in Ladakh with domestic tourism. Because, we are giving more exposure to Ladakh. Here our domestic tour operators participate.” He added.
The history behind the name GPS
“The full name of GPS is Global Panorama Showcase. Everyone immediately thinks – Global Positioning Satellite. My father who is the chairman of this company. His name is Gulshan Pal Singh. Also our parent company Jaction. Jagat Singh & Sons – Named after my grandfather. GPS is a big brand in today’s tourism world. It is a comprehensive interaction platform in the travel industry in tier two and tier three markets. More than 50 thousand travel consultancy agency are associated with us.”
Feedback from Ministry of Tourism or Tourism Board
Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said – We have not started working with the Ministry or the Tourism Board. But we want them to support our event too. We have not got the support of Domestic Tourism Board now.
Opinions on tourism in Bengal
Mr. Harmandeep Singh Anand said, “Bengal has many opportunities for tourism. People here are very nice. Tourism has everything here. Government i.e. tourism board can do many things if it wants. Abroad we see how they magnify a small waterfall. If you educate the travel agent, he will be motivated. Then he will start thinking how to earn. Then it will automatically start promoting the destination. Don’t look at this, visit Britain. They have started promoting their small regions. If the tourism board of Bengal also starts working in this way, then the tourism here will go a long way.”
Here, 400 travel agents participated. We provide free education to them. We have been providing free education to them for the past 10 years. Of course we are a commercial organization but still we say that the more we can educate the more business will grow.
To the tourism industry I would like to say – Collaborate and work together for the success of all.
Published on: January 24, 2023 @00:22
