New Delhi | May 2024 (day unconfirmed)
The gap between a beautiful holiday product and a booking often lies in a travel company’s ability to explain it online. That was the practical problem tackled at The Lalit in New Delhi during an ADTOI workshop on social media for travel businesses in May 2024. The session was initiated by Ved Khanna in his capacity as ADTOI Treasurer and Chairman of the General House Cultivation Committee, months before his election as President.
From Instagram formats to working sales materials
The published agenda went beyond motivational advice. Members were introduced to Instagram business accounts, Reels, Stories, post planning, the platform’s algorithm, engagement practices and methods of generating content ideas. Canva, promotional flyers and digital catalogues featured as tools that smaller operators could use to present trips professionally.
Rohit Sharma, founder of Gyankosh Education Services and co-founder of Bizgurukul, moderated the session. Instagram coach and social-media manager Swati Saini contributed the platform-specific instruction. Members also received attendance certificates. The event was followed by the General House Meeting, including presentations by Chevron Hotels & Resorts, Alliance Air and the Amigo Portal.
The workshop was also a direct response to a shift in traveller behaviour. A client who once asked for a printed itinerary now compares itineraries through social posts, instant messages and mobile video. That change rewards agencies that can explain inclusions, respond promptly and maintain a consistent brand voice. It can also expose agencies to reputational risks when offers are ambiguous or photographs misrepresent a product.
Seen in that light, Khanna’s initiative addressed the credibility of the wider trade. When smaller agencies have access to skill development, a national association contributes to service quality in a way that is not immediately visible in tourist-arrival statistics.
Khanna’s practical approach to training the trade
A reliable travel brand depends on more than attractive pictures. Pricing must be transparent; enquiries need qualification; destination claims need verification; and every piece of promotional content should lead to a clear service conversation. A workshop that touches the tools travel professionals use every day therefore has more strategic value than its modest setting might suggest.
For the travel trade, the test of such a workshop is not how many Instagram posts it inspired. The test is whether an agency can communicate a package transparently, respond to questions reliably and keep client details organised rather than lose promising leads in scattered messages.
Training that reaches beyond the workshop
Khanna’s role was to initiate member learning, not to present himself as the individual Instagram trainer. That distinction gives the account credibility and offers a strong bridge to his later interest in practical travel-industry education and skills development.
From member training to the next generation of travel professionals
This subject also informs Ved Khanna’s travel-industry education and university outreach. Through TourShala, his founder-led learning initiative, students can study itinerary development, CRM, supplier costing, marketing, client communication and supervised projects. Colleges, public universities and industry organisations may explore guest lectures and skills collaborations; the academy does not claim a government-university partnership unless one is formally agreed.
Original reporting and event references
The reporting behind this account can be checked against the following original publications and institutional records: