Budget hotel rooms aggregator, OYO Rooms has acquired its rival ZO Rooms. OYO’s largest investor, SoftBank has listed the transaction in its most recent financial report. However, the value of the acquisition has not been disclosed. The acquisition came after Zostel Hospitality, the promoters of ZO Rooms, failed to raise additional funds for further growth from their existing investors or bring in new investors. Zo Rooms raised roughly USD 35 million from Tiger Global and Orios Management in 2005.

The maiden Bengal Travel Mart 2016 (BTM 2016) will be organised from February 26-28, 2016, at Hotel Mainak in Siliguri. It will be jointly organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of West Bengal with North Bengal Development Department (NBDD) and Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators’ Association (EHTTOA). A total of 100 buyers and 80 suppliers are expected to attend the three-day exhibition. Surajit Bose, Joint Director, West Bengal Tourism, has reportedly revealed that BTM 2016 will comprise exhibition of travel and tourism products, B2B meetings, panel discussions, and cultural events. While the first day will only see B2B engagements, general public will be allowed on the second and third day.

The fifth India Heritage Tourism Conclave “Making Incredible India – Swachh, Sundar & Sashakt Bharat,” was held at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur (Rajasthan). The one-day conclave, was organised by PHD Chamber and supported by the Ministry of Tourism (MOT). Special addresses were given by H.E. Sabit Subasic, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ajay Data, Chairman, Rajasthan Chapter, PHD Chamber; Vijay Goel, Member of Parliament, and special guest Parvez Dewan, Advisor to the Governor, Jammu and Kashmir Government. An Extensive Study on Tourism was also launched at the event. The first technical session saw discussions on “Opportunities and Challenges- Making Incredible India: Swachh, Sundar, Sashakt Bharat,” followed by a second session on “Importance of Start-ups in contributing to the restoration of Indian heritage and hospitality” and “Role of Royal families of India in preserving Indian heritage for across all generations” was discussed in the last session of the day.

BIT 2016 Milan opened its doors to thousands of tourism experts, along with over 80 Indian Hosted Buyers reinstating the importance of the Indian outbound traveller. Business to India is also on the rise with 20 exhibitors from the country showcasing their products at the Fair from Feb 11-13. During the inaguration of India pavillion, Air India announced that it will fly four flights a week to Milan starting this summer.  BIT 2016, Italy’s number one international tourism event, held at the heart of Fiera Milano Fairs hosted over 100 nations on five continents which participated at the Fair to promote themselves and showcase a host of new developments and experiences people can try out for themselves.

Dream Cruises’ first ship, Genting Dream that was launched in India this January, will dock in Mumbai on October 29, 2016. Thatcher Brown, President, Dream Cruises, who was in Mumbai to make this announcement, said, “We will announce the price of the packages agents can start selling by February end. We will offer a really good value proposition to our trade partners and the commission structure will be similar to the one of Star Cruises. Itineraries will include two-, five- and seven-night cruises. As of now, we don’t have plans to make Mumbai a permanent stop for it.” The ship will be stationed out of China for regular sailings and will be priced higher than Star Cruises’ existing cruises. The new ships will have of 1,700 staterooms, 35 restaurants and bars, various entertainment areas, outdoor adventures, rejuvenation facilities and more. Her sister ship World Dream will sail in November 2017.

Sri Lanka received 28,895 Indian tourists in January 2016, an increase of 25.9 per cent this year as compared to the same period in 2015. The total number of tourists in Sri Lanka rose by 24.3 per cent in January 2016, with 194,280 tourist arrivals as compared to the 156,246 in January 2015. The data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) showed that India contributed 14.8 per cent of the total tourist arrivals, retaining the spot as the largest source market for the country. The region wise data of tourist arrivals for January 2016 showed 122.3 per cent increase from China; 48.1 per cent increase from the East Asia; 23.8 per cent increase from Western Europe; 20.7 per cent increase from South Asia; 17.9 per cent from Australasia; 17.3 per cent increase from North America; 17.2 per cent increase from the US; 14.7 per cent increase from the Middle East; 11.6 per cent from Africa and 11.1 per cent increase from Eastern Europe. However, Sri Lanka witnessed a decline of 9.5 per cent from Russia and 28.5 per cent decline from Pakistan for the month of January 2016 as compared to the same period in 2015. SLTDA has set a target of 2.5 million tourist arrivals by the end of 2016.

Zurich-headquartered global aviation giant, ExecuJet Aviation Group, is all set to expand into the Indian market for the first time, and has joined hands with The Bird Group in India. ExecuJet will develop, construct and operate India’s first fixed-based operation (FBO) and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. Mike Berry, VP, ExecuJet says, “This is a significant win for ExecuJet as we have had India on our radar for many years. It will provide us with the platform to expand our geographic footprint and service proposition, in line with our growth strategy. I would congratulate Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) for running a transparent process. Headquartered in New Delhi, with over 40 years of experience in India and expertise in aviation services, The Bird Group is our perfect partner for this expansion programme.” In an official statement, the Bird Group said, “ExecuJet has already established a leading global aviation business and we are delighted to be announcing partnership with them. In line with the “Make in India” programme we shall be creating state of the art world class infrastructure for Private Aircraft Operators.”

IndiGo has launched 10 flights across its domestic and international network. The airline will connect Delhi to Dubai from February 10; Bengaluru to Patna and Ranchi from February 15; and from February 18 flights will operate between Chandigarh to Delhi and Kochi (via Delhi); and Jaipur and Pune. Also, Delhi-Lucknow route will now have eight daily non-stop flights, with effect from February 18. The 3rd daily non-stop flight, effective Feb 10, from Delhi to Dubai costs Rs 6,980, while the Dubai to Delhi flight will cost Rs 7,025.The first daily non-stop flight, effective Feb 15, from Bengaluru to Patna will cost Rs 5,737, while the Ranchi to Bengaluru 1st daily non-stop flight will cost Rs 4,349. For flights effective Feb 18, the 1st daily non-stop flights from Delhi to Chandigarh will cost Rs 1,600; from Chandigarh to Delhi Rs 1478; Chandigarh to Kochi (via Delhi) will cost Rs 6,268; Kochi to Chandigarh (via Delhi) is worth Rs 6,313. Flights from Jaipur to Pune will cost Rs 3,933; and Pune to Jaipur Rs 3,730. The 8th daily non-stop flights from Delhi to Lucknow cost Rs 1,761 and from Lucknow to Delhi is for Rs 1,831. With the launch of these new flights the airline will operate 700 daily flights, connecting 39 destinations.

R.K.Verma, a 1980 batch of Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRSE), has assumed the charge of the post of Secretary, Railway Board. Before assuming the post of Secretary, Railway Board on February 9, he was serving as advisor (Public Grievance) to the Minister of State for Railways. Verma, after completion of his B.Tech (Civil Engineering) from IIT(BHU), Varanasi and M.Tech (Structural Engineering) from IIT Delhi joined, Indian Railways on February 10, 1982. He has worked on various railways viz. Southern, North-East Frontier Eastern and Western including Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, Pune in various capacities. His technical papers have been published in various national/international, conferences of institution of permanent way Engineers (India), International Union of Railways, International Rail Safety, International Heavy Haul Association, World Congress on Railway Research etc. He has undergone training in Heavy Haul Operations in South Africa. He also has Life Fellowship of: Institution of Engineers (India), Institution of Permanent Way Engineers(India) and Indian Institute of Bridge Engineers.

Isra Stapanaseth has been appointed the Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand New Delhi with North & East India, Bangladesh, Bhutan & Nepal as the areas of responsibility. Stapanaseth previously was the TAT Director of Chiang Rai and replaces Runjuan Tongrut who headed North and East India for the past four years. Thailand crossed the one million mark for Indian tourist arrivals in 2015 and registered a total of 1,069,149 arrivals marking a year-on year growth of 14.64 per cent over the same period in 2014, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Govt. of Thailand. India is Thailand’s sixth biggest source market and the country is aiming for a 10 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in 2016.