Veena World has recently opened a sales office in Bengaluru. The Mumbai-based tour operator has more than 19 sales offices across India with presence in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Assam, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and now Bengaluru. It was established in 2013 with 35-odd people and has now grown to a 1,000-member team pan-India.

Pradeep S Kharola, Secretary, MoCA, has said that the government will now focus on promoting Indian carriers. Speaking at a webinar organised by FAITH, he said, “We have realised the importance of tourism and aviation as an industry. Hence, as a matter of policy, the government would be giving more thrust on promoting Indian carriers.”

Raul de la Rosa Machado, Counsellor, Embassy of Spain, New Delhi, says that at this time of involuntary inaction in the tourism sector, it is the right time to get educated about Spain. Talking about the upcoming Virtual Spanish Travel Show, he said, “This is the time to prepare ourselves for the so-called new normal, to gather all information possible.”

The Worldwide Airport Slot Board (WASB) comprising ACI World, IATA, and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) recommend regulators worldwide to temporarily adopt more flexible slot rules as quickly as possible in order to preserve essential air transport connectivity.

From December 7 to 11, Russian Expo Days (RED) online exhibition for travel professionals from India will take place at russiadays.travel. Eight exhibitors have already confirmed their participation: St. Petersburg, Kamchatka, Krasnodar, Murmansk, Vladimir, Tula, Samara and Amur regions. In the framework of the RED business programme, there will be live sessions on e-visa, tax-free shopping, industrial tourism, and online presentations with travel businesses of Russia’s regions. All webinars and materials are available for free for all registered users. The website is constantly updated with new information and virtual stands of the exhibiting regions are already open. Join the event here: russiadays.travel.

CAPA India recommends the development of 100 new low-cost airports by re-targeting of the planned $4-5bn of capital and other assets earmarked for investment in regional aviation over next 10 years.

Spree Hotels has signed a new boutique hotel in Aurangabad, located in the industrial powerhouse of Waluj. This will help the group further cement its strong presence across the country. Spree will bring the first boutique and mid-market hotel in this suburb, filling an urgent need. The Spree Aurangabad will offer comfortable rooms, a rooftop bar and grill, large and luxurious banquet halls, 24×7 multi-cuisine dining options, and a host of technological enhancements for a quality stay.

IATA is in the final development phase of the IATA Travel Pass, a digital health pass that will support the safe reopening of borders. The Pass will manage and verify the secure flow of necessary testing or vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers.

Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, MOT, shares that the emphasis this time of MOT’s international promotional strategy will be on short-haul flights, countries and destinations from where people can actually travel in times to come. “We will be focusing on South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as on tapping new markets,” she says.

JLL’s quarterly hospitality sector monitor – Hotel Momentum India (HMI) Q3 2020 – reveals that for the said period, international operators dominated hotel signings over domestic operators with the ratio of 53:47 in terms of inventory volume. There were a total of 24 signings in Q3 2020, totalling 2,314 keys.