Cox & Kings has curated a travel guidebook titled ‘Dubai: An Experience’ that gives a glimpse of the city’s offerings and details about places to see, hotels and restaurants. The guidebook was launched by actor Emraan Hashmi and Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings at Crossword bookstore in Mumbai. Anand said, “Dubai continues to be one of the most preferred overseas’ destinations for Indian travelers and caters to every taste, budget and age group. With the launch of this travel book, we want to help travelers plan their trip better and experience Dubai in a whole new light. The book is well attuned to the needs of both first-time and experienced travelers and offers in-depth information on hotels, attractions, restaurants and activities along with tailor-made itineraries for different periods of stay and interests.” The book is published by Times Group Books and is available at leading bookstores across cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore along with shopping portals like Flipkart, Amazon, and Infibeam.

The Department of Tourism (DoT), Philippines received overwhelming response during its four-city roadshow for the travel trade. The roadshow that commenced from Kolkata on August 8, travelled to Chennai on August 9, Bengaluru on August 10 and finally to Mumbai on August 11. DOT Director, Verna Buensuceso, who was leading a delegation of 16 members from Philippines said, “We had more than 100 agents and operators in each city. Our growth shows that there is a lot of interest from the Indian market for Philippines. In 2015-16, the numbers grew by 22 per cent with a arrivals from India touching 75,000. This makes India the 13th biggest market for us globally.” SanJeet, Tourism Attaché, Philippines Tourism said, “The year 2016 is witnessing a strong start for Philippines Tourism, especially from the India market. We believe in putting our best efforts to make every roadshow more promising than the last one. The Indian travellers’ palate has become experimental and therefore, through our numerous trade initiatives, we envisage the influencers of the Indian travel market to sell the destination more effectively to the end consumers.” The program for the roadshow included presentations by officials of DoT Philippines, DMCs and hotels from the Philippines in addition to Q&A, detailed networking sessions and a special lucky draw for the participants.

South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has identified India as a key growth market and has accorded it greater focus in terms of engagement with the trade and marketing efforts. Dana Urmonas, Regional Director, Southeast Asia & India, SATC, who was visiting multiple cities in India to meet the trade, says, “India is one of the world’s fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world and we at the SATC recognise the huge potential this market holds for us. The way Indians are now travelling and spending is changing significantly; they are looking for unique, memorable experiences. With wildlife experiences, pristine beaches, unspoilt nature and fantastic food and wine, travellers can get close to the real Australia in South Australia.” According to the recent International Visitor Survey Report March 2016, the number of Indian visitors to South Australia reached 10,000, with record spends of AU$18 million in the state. The 2015 India-Pakistan World Cup match hosted at the Adelaide Oval drove considerable awareness for the state and the SATC is looking to leverage the momentum built. The SATC is targeting affluent, global travellers in the age group of 25-55. The core target segments include leisure travellers, group travellers, honeymooners and families. To attract these travellers, SATC has been promoting three key destinations: Adelaide, Kangaroo Island and Barossa.

The Taj Group of Hotels has launched the ‘Timeless Wedding Concierge by Taj’ service across 13 properties of the brand including Taj Palace Delhi, Vivanta By Taj Surajkund, Vivanta by Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort, Taj Exotica Goa, Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur, Taj Falaknuma Palace Hyderabad, Taj Bengal Kolkata, Taj Krishna Hyderabad, Vivanta By Taj President, Vivanta By Taj MG Road, Vivanta By Taj Malabar Cochin, Taj Coromandel Chennai and Taj Capetown. The concierge service promises to be a one-stop-destination for all wedding requirements for a wholesome and personalised experience. The new concept will handle all phases of a wedding from pre-wedding planning to post wedding services along with personalised services and assistance for decor, ambiance, lighting to music and menu. “What we are trying to create is a one point stop where there is a single point contact to co-ordinate and create experiences including pre-wedding functions as well as anything that happens post wedding,” says Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, Taj Hotels, Resort and Palaces. Source: The Financial Express

Sarovar Hotels has announced the launch of RS Sarovar Portico, Palampur. The hotel has 43 rooms and suites offering magnificent views of the Dhauladhar mountain ranges. Room rates start from Rs 4,999. The hotel was launched in the presence of Major Vijay Singh Mankotia, Vice Chairman–Tourism Department and ex-Tourism Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jagdish Sipahiya, Chairman of Kangra Co-Operative Bank, Rajesh Ranjan, Director-Development, Sarovar Hotels and Keshav Chauhan, Managing Director, R.S. Construction. Speaking on the occasion, Ranjan, Director-Development, Sarovar Hotels, said, “We are very glad to be launching the first branded hotel of Palampur. Palampur is an important leisure destination that attracts nature lovers and adventure enthusiasts. It is the gateway to numerous tourist and pilgrimage destinations in Himachal Pradesh. We hope to bring in a new level of comfort and facilities to travellers to this region with our superior accommodation and excellent services.” Located 6 km from the Palampur Railway Station, 1 km from ISBT bus stand and 40 Km away from Kangra Airport, RS Sarovar Portico, Palampur is conveniently accessible to guests.

A total of 68,487 tourists arrived in July 2016 on e-Tourist Visa (eTV) as compared to 21,476 during the month of July 2015 registering a growth of 218.9 per cent. Status of achievements in respect of eTV availed by International tourists visiting India last year in 2015 has been surpassed in the first six months of the current calendar year 2016. During January- July 2016, a total of 5,40,396 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 1,47,690 during January-July 2015, registering a growth of  265.9 per cent. This high growth may be attributed to introduction of e-Tourist Visa for 150 countries as against the earlier coverage of 77 countries. The percentage shares of  top 10 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities  during  July, 2016  were as follows: UK (17.7%), USA (16.2%), France (6.7%), UAE (5.9%), China (5.4%), Spain (4.0%), Australia (3.9%), Germany (3.5%), Canada (3.4%) and Netherland (2.9%). The percentage shares of top 10 ports in tourist arrivals on e-Tourist Visa during  July, 2016  were as follows: New Delhi Airport (44.00%), Mumbai Airport (20.77%), Chennai Airport (9.43%), Bengaluru Airport (9.10%), Kochi Airport (5.10%), Hyderabad Airport (3.68%), Kolkata Airport (2.50%), Ahmadabad Airport (1.38%), Trivandrum Airport (1.35%)  and Amritsar Airport (0.99%).

Air India and SpiceJet have signed an MOU under which Air India will provide support to SpiceJet on maintenance of their B-737 aircraft and landing gear replacement at AIESL’s MRO facility at Nagpur. This will mean additional revenue for Air India while it will also enable SpiceJet to not only avail AI’s state of the art facilities and engineering expertise but also can save money and extra miles. Arun Kashyap, VP engineering and maintenance, SpiceJet said that SpiceJet will save nearly 25 per cent of total maintenance cost. H.R. Jagannathan, CEO, AIESL said that Air India is always ready to be a part of the Make in India programme. Air India has world class MRO facilities and any one can use the state of the art facilities. He said that aviation sector is growing rapidly so in the coming years MRO facilities can be used efficiently

The ninth edition of Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) is set to be the biggest and farthest-reaching yet. The biennial event will witness 57 countries besides 20 Indian states during the three-day Mart, which is being organised by the KTM Society in association with the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala on September 27, World Tourism Day, in Kochi. Ten countries will be represented at the Mart for the first time, with Mexico, Georgia, Japan, China, Chile, Greece, Iran, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Botswana – markets as diverse as they are distant – all confirmed to participate. The 560 total international delegates registered for KTM 2016 features the biggest-ever contingents from 10 highly-prized traditional markets, including the US, Canada and Australia. Domestic participation too has seen an uptick, buoyed by aggressive marketing campaigns. Some 1,304 Indian buyers will participate this year. “The KTM has always emphasised the consistent identification of quality buyers in ever newer territories as much as retaining participation from conventional markets. With representation from 10 new nations this year, our efforts have borne fruit,” said Abraham George, President, KTM Society. “For KTM 2016, we have extended the prefixed appointment system to registered domestic buyers, which will help the business session be more effective for both the sellers and buyers. The focus is on emphasising quality of interactions,” he added.

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has announced the appointment of Arved von zur Muehlen as Chief Commercial Officer effective from 5 September, 2016. Announcing the appointment, MAB’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Bellew said, “On behalf of the management team, I am very pleased to welcome Muehlen to the Malaysia Airlines family. He will focus on developing a comprehensive and sustainable plan to improve Malaysia Airlines’ marketing, sales, products and customer service. He brings with him over 20 years of professional experience in the aviation industry and will add a valuable breadth of understanding across sales, marketing and technological innovation. Muehlen will play a crucial role in the next phase of the turnaround, focusing on restoring our position as a leading international carrier and developing our innovative customer centric services. He is a welcome addition to the team as we move forward with our global marketing strategy to increase sales and promote the wonders of Malaysia.” Prior to his appointment, Muehlen was the Senior Vice President of Commercial Network Operations for Qatar Airways, responsible for global sales strategy and development as well as innovation and technology with a revenue target of more than USD7 billion. Whilst there he managed the roll-out of several successful projects, including the implementation of a new internet sales platform and booking engine. Before that he spent four years with Swiss International Airlines as Vice President Sales International where he was responsible, amongst other things, for sales and marketing across 18 online markets. Muehlen also spent over 15 years with Lufthansa Airlines covering a wide breadth of portfolios in revenue management, sales and marketing and left the airline as Managing Director of Greater China. Muehlen takes over from …

UNWTO has expressed its full support to the decision of the Government of Indonesia to grant free visa to citizens from 169 countries. The visa-free policy is valid for a maximum stay of 30 days, has no restriction on the number of visits per year, and is non-extendable nor convertible to any other stay permit. Nationals of visa-free countries can enter Indonesia in any of the 124 immigration check points that the country possesses. “Indonesia is setting an example to the world. UNWTO welcomes the decision of the Government of Indonesia which clearly reflects the commitment of the country with the development of the tourism sector as a driver of economic growth, jobs and well-being for its people” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. The measure looks for attracting international tourism to the country by simplifying travel procedures and follows research by UNWTO and WTTC that shows that visa facilitation in the ASEAN economies could create between 333,000 to 654,000 new jobs in a period of three years. According to the UNWTO/WTTC Report Impact of Visa Facilitation in ASEAN Member States, ASEAN stands to gain 6 to 10 million additional international tourist arrivals from improved visa facilitation. The additional receipts generated by these tourists could reach between US$7 and US$12 billion.