Jehangir Katgara, Chairman and Managing Director of TBI Trail Blazer Tours India, has won a prestigious World Travel Market 2014 World Travel Leaders Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Indian travel industry.
DDP Publications Pvt. Ltd, Publisher & Director, Mr SanJeet presented the coveted award to Trailblazer Tours Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Jehangir Katgara at the WTM World Travel Leaders Awards ceremony.
The Awards give WTM’s Official Media Partners – which represent key travel industry media around the world – an excellent platform to congratulate and recognise those companies and individuals which have made the greatest contributions to travel and tourism in their region or sector.
Three nominations from each of WTM’s media partners were judged in September by a panel of three, made up of an independent body, a representative of WTM and the relevant media partner.
Katgara is credited with introducing the concept of air charters to India.
In the 1970s as an executive working for Travel Corporation India (TCI), Katgara was instrumental in expanding the TCI overseas network in Canada, Europe, the Far East, Australia and South America.
In 2006, TCI was sold to Thomas Cook and Katgara started Trail Blazer Tours India (TBI), which serves both the leisure and business travel markets, with 10 offices in India and overseas representations in China, Korea, Australia, France, UK, Austria, USA, Canada, Germany and Bulgaria.
Katgara strongly believes in giving back to society and has set up the Katgara Foundation, providing aid, grants, meals to school children and donations to worthy causes. To date the foundation has assisted over 5,000 individuals or institutions, including the construction of a wing at Masina Hospital in Mumbai.
An active member of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), he is on the boards of numerous state tourism bodies and is a member of the executive committee of the PATA India Chapter.
Reed Travel Exhibitions, Senior Director, World Travel Market, Simon Press said: “Katgara is one of the best known and most respected members of the Indian travel trade and has been at the forefront of this industry throughout the period since the 1980s. He strongly believes in giving back to society and his Katgara Foundation has done some excellent work among communities in India.”
Every year, World Travel Leaders Awards are presented at WTM. The full list of 2014 winners is:
Brazil: Eduardo Nascimento, President of Nascimento Turismo Operadora
China: James Liang, Chairman and CEO of Ctrip.com
India: Jehangir Katgara, Chairman & Managing Director of TBI Trail Blazer Tours India Private Limited
Italy: Venetian Villas
Portugal: André Jordan, Founder of the André Jordan Group
Russia: Association of Tour Operators
Spain: Turespaña
Travolution/technology: David Speakman, Chairman, Travel Counsellors
UK: EasyJet
Middle East: The Gulf Hotel Bahrain
USA: Roger Dow, CEO, US Travel
Canada: Air Canada
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry.
More than 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM.
WTM, now in its 35th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
WTM 2013 generated more than £2 billion of travel industry contracts, revealed independent research by Fusion Communications.
WTM is owned by the world’s leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a other portfolio’s of travel industry events including IBTM Events, the world’s leading showcases for the meetings and events industry and International Luxury Travel Market events.
In 2013, RE held more than 500 events in 40 countries bringing together more than six million people from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.
Reed Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry, with a wide-ranging portfolio of 21 international events in 14 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa.
Its market-leading, business-to-business events cover all elements of travel and tourism, including leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, events, incentives and business travel, as well as golf, ski and spa travel.
RTE is part of Reed Exhibitions.
www.reedtravelexhibitions.com