IATO’s 2018 election result, was there a surprise?

Society for Incentives Travel Excellence (SITE) is an international body of tour operators, specialising in incentives travel. SITE presence is spread across 92 odd countries with membership base of over 2000 global tourism stakeholders. The Chicago, Illinois, based body wields tremendous reputation internationally.

It usually gives its President one year term at the top. It found Rajiv Kohli, Joint Managing Director of Creative Travel India and SITE’s Immediate Past President, good enough for two consecutive terms (2016 and 2017) at the top. Surprisingly, in Kohli’s own backyard at the recent election for the new team to lead the 36 year-old Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), it’s members thought otherwise, or at least that’s what it looked like.

Elections, be it of a trade body or in mainstream politics, often spring surprises; and not to forget the backroom parlours, the old guards trying to remain firmly entrenched, suspense surrounding who is actually supporting whom and like STIC Travels’ Subhash Goyal, IATO’s longest serving President who has also often played the kingmaker puts it “everything is fair in love and war,” only makes an election more interesting to report.

The 2018 IATO election was no different. It sprang many surprises, especially for the most anticipated contests between Kohli and Trivandram, Kerala, headquartered Air Travel Enterprises’ EM Najeeb for the post of Sr. Vice President. Four of the six office bearers were already elected unopposed, but two were not and both lost despite being widely expected to win.

The other highly anticipated contest was between the incumbent Amaresh Tiwari of Delhi based AT & Seasons Vacations Travel who was seeking a re-election against the formidable IATO veteran Rajesh Mudgill of Delhi based Planet India Travels for the important post of Honorary Secretary. Mudgill was part of the IATO team led by Vijay Thakur for two terms during 2007-2011. Of the four elections that have taken place since, Mudgill fought in three losing two before the doughty veteran making a comeback to team IATO in the recent election.

However, the biggest surprise was Kohli’s loss against Najeeb, a seasoned veteran from Kerala and somebody who has contributed immensely to Kerala Tourism being the founder President to the immensely successful Kerala Travel Mart. Besides heading several trade bodies in the state, Najeeb has been of Kerala’s most active tourism campaigner and probably the biggest tourism industry face from the state in the last 15-20 years. 

Kohli’s biodata is also as impressive or probably even better given his experience in leading powerful international trade body like SITE. Nevertheless, although by a small margin, Kohli’s loss was particularly surprising given that IATO has historically opted to choose team comprising of office bearers mostly from Delhi region.

Besides, in the last six years that Kohli was in IATO, first four years as Vice President and the last term as Sr. Vice President, Kohli had engaged hard with the members as well as seen as somebody who was sincere in his efforts, shown courage in highlighting issues and concerns to top government officials without beating about the bush, a trait often on display at key industry events when private sector is seen sharing platform with ministers and bureaucrats in the government.

Besides, not just in India, Kohli is also one of the top international faces in the global tourism arena and his highly respected for his leadership and industry insights all over the world.

Anyway, now its two teams combined that has fought each other over the last four elections are in the house at moment. How will that augur for IATO and members is yet to be seen. 

Whose Victory?

It was interesting speaking to some of the IATO members on the election day and picking their mind. But this one question put to me that I really found interesting was, “So who won?” Clearly, I was being challenged to look beyond the obvious. Well of course Najeeb and Mudgill won, meaning Kohli and Tiwari lost, and lost despite Goyal’s support. In the last over 23 years nobody has wielded as much clout over IATO and its members as Goyal has.

A testimony to that is the fact that Goyal is today IATO’s longest serving President with 14 years spent as the president of the association between 1995 and 2018. While the remaining years he was IATO’s Immediate Past President. So it was as much a loss to the canny Goyal also, or was it?

Two years down the line, in 2020, a likely scenario could be Goyal throwing his hat in the arena once again after Pronab Sarkar has presided over two consecutive terms. That presents us with some very interesting scenario. Albeit unwittingly, it (Kohli’s loss) may actually be a Goyal’s victory in case he decides to do comeback to lead IATO two years from now. And this is quite likely if Goyal doesn’t get a bigger industry responsibility, say that of the Chairman of the tourism industry federation FAITH, a post that ITC’s Executive Director Nakul Anand has held since the body was formed about six years ago.

With Najeeb serving his first term (2018-2020) as Sr. Vice President, it would likely be easy for Goyal to be re-elected as IATO President, in case he decides to contest for the top post once again and say he happens face Najeeb as his main contender.  If this happens in 2020, Goyal’s win is guaranteed. 

However, if Kohli were to be re-elected as the Sr. Vice President in the recent election, it was only a matter of time before he was contesting for the top post in 2020. And if pitted against Goyal, Kohli could have made for a more compelling choice for the IATO members for the top post. It would have been an election probably as interesting as the one contested between team Goyal and team Arjun Sharma, the then Managing Director of Le Passage to India, in 2011.

But that said, to me, Kohli continues to be one of the formidable contenders for IATO President post in 2020, but as a lesser threat to Goyal in 2020 in case both of them throw their hats in the ring. And to that extent some say it (Kohli’s loss) might as well have been Goyal’s victory too.

Anyway, coming back to the recent IATO election, we can only know so much in case it was “everything is fair in love and war” kind of situation too like Goyal had alluded. The win margin was small and ten votes influenced here and there could have done it for either of the two.