Travel industry bids a fond farewell to India Tourism's Anil Oraw

Members of the travel trade gathered in Toronto last night to bid a safe journey to India Tourism Director Anil Oraw, who will return to India this week following the completion of his three-year term in Canada.

Oraw and his family welcomed a group of travel professionals to The Host restaurant in Yorkville (which has been the site of numerous India Tourism events in recent months) for an evening of reminiscing over Oraw’s three-year tenure in Toronto and the growth of India as tourist destination for Canadians.

That growth, Oraw said, is exemplified by such recent developments as the inclusion of Canada in India’s electronic tourist visa program and the introduction of several new flights from Canada, which Oraw said was a particular highlight for him during his time in the Toronto office; these include service from Toronto and Vancouver to Delhi by Air Canada (which will also launch Toronto-Mumbai this summer) and a new Toronto-Mumbai flight by Brussels Airlines launched in March.

Aloka & Anil Oraw

Oraw will now head to Delhi to join the Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism, continuing his work representing the country as a travel destination. While a new director for the Toronto office is yet to be named, Oraw told PAX that the position will likely be filled sometime later this year, given Canada’s importance as a source market for tourists to India.

“The work I did in Canada will continue,” Oraw said, “(and) the ministry will certainly send someone new; Canada is now the fourth largest market behind the U.S., U.K. and Bangladesh, so the growth has been very good.”