Manta Air announced the commencement of its first international flight between Dhaalu Airport in Maldives and Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on 1 March, 2024. This new route will save 4-5 hours of tourists’ time as they can avoid the overtly crowded Velana International Airport of Maldives.

A CRISIL Ratings analysis of branded hotel companies indicates that the hospitality industry in India is slated for a healthy revenue growth of 11-13% in the next fiscal after a strong 15-17% growth in the current fiscal, backed by steady domestic demand and an expected ramp up in foreign traveller demand.

Himachal Pradesh witnessed an increase in the number of tourist arrivals despite heavy rainfalls and landslides. As per the state tourism department, 1.60 crore tourists, including 62,806 foreigners, visited the state in 2023 as compared to 1.51 crore tourists, including 29,333 foreigners, in 2022.

The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) has unveiled its mascot: ‘Adyant,’ and a new tagline, representing their strategic move which is aimed at enhancing brand recognition. ITDC also plans to promote The Ashok as a wedding venue, aligning with the wedding tourism campaign.

According to VFS Global, the visa application volume from New Delhi registered a 10 per cent year over year growth in 2023. When compared to pre-COVID numbers, visa application volumes from the city reached 82 per cent. Visa application volumes from New Delhi continued to stay strong last year, it added.

Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, EbixCash Travel, said, “Investments will pour into India, as the focus is rapidly shifting to 100-150 cities, towns, and districts of India. This is where growth will come from, primarily driven by funds that will invest in real estate, hotel projects, convention centers among others.”

Manisha Saxena, DG Tourism, MOT, said, “The decrease in the budget for overseas promotion is merely a technical reduction. There has been an increase in the allocation for domestic tourism. It is a matter of revamping the schemes and using them in tandem for domestic as well as overseas promotion.

Morocco Tourism will organise an exciting webinar to showcase the destination to the travel trade today at 11:30 am. Attendees will learn about Morocco’s rich tourism assets and its experiential offerings for the Indian traveller. For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532 to register.

To boost domestic tourism and inbound arrivals, India needs to frame policies that could introduce uniformity in the sector. Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, believes that it is high time that India should come up with a National Tourism Policy, which will escalate investments and augment tourism’s share in the economy.

CRISIL Ratings estimate a rise of more than 20 per cent in the profit of the domestic airline industry in the next fiscal year. The subsequent increase in profit is being accredited to the surge in passenger traffic, the ability to pass on volatile fuel prices to flyers, and reduced fluctuation in foreign exchange rates.