On occasion of World Tourism Day, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said, “The potential of tourism is enormous, and we have a shared responsibility to ensure it is fully realised. On World Tourism Day 2022, UNWTO calls on everyone, from tourism workers to tourists themselves, as well as small businesses, large corporations and governments, to reflect and rethink what we do and how we do it. We need effective public-private partnerships in tourism for inclusive recovery and I look forward to working closely with WTTC CEO Julia Simpson.”

Sharing news about the upcoming convention from 16 -19 December, Rajiv Mehra, IATO President, says, “All activities including registration, business sessions and evening programmes will be held at The Centrum, Lucknow. We expect about 900-1000 delegates from all over the country. Added attraction for this year convention would be Post Convention Tours to Ayodhya and Varanasi. We expect participation of about 18 to 20 State Governments in the convention.”

Minister of Development of North-Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy stated that enhancing comprehensive connectivity between India and Bangladesh through the North East is an important aspect of India’s bilateral cooperation. He says, “Significant progress has been made in recent years. It is pertinent to mention here that rail and bus services between the two countries have resumed after the pandemic.”

ITA Airways will launch non-stop services between India and Italy w.e.f. December 4, 2022. The new flight will be operated with Airbus A330 with three weekly frequencies every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 4th December 2022 with departure from Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi at 3.50am and arrival at Rome Fiumicino at 8.10am, local time. The flight from Rome Fiumicino instead foresees departure at 14.10 and landing in New Delhi at 2.00am, local time. The new route launch will provide the most convenient connections from New Delhi to Rome and beyond to key destinations within Italy, Europe, North America & South America. DEX GROUP, one of the leading GSA Groups in India, will represent ITA Airways as their General Sales Agent (GSA) in India. “We are confident that DEX Group will support ITA Airways to establish a strong sales and marketing network across India to achieve our commercial goals from the Indian market” said Fabio Bigotti, the recently appointed ITA Airways Country Manager for India.

Flipkart has announced it is launching a new hotel-booking service to strengthen itself in the travel sector, providing “superior service” as it partners with its travel website Cleartrip. Flipkart Hotels will provide room bookings at 3 lakh domestic and international hotels. It will offer customers services like flexible travel and booking-related policies, and easy EMI options.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India Bengaluru office recently organised a workshop to sensitise the MSMEs in the tourism and hospitality sectors on its ‘Incredible India Bed & Breakfast and Homestay Establishments’ scheme and its benefits. The workshop was followed by stakeholders meet in Manipal. The objective of the program was to sensitise the MSME stakeholders in coastal Karnataka about the demand for experiential tourism from inbound and domestic tourism source markets.

Research by ICICI Lombard states an increase of 76 % in India’s travel insurance on international travels post-pandemic compared to 50% before pandemic, as 94 percent of those planning to travel overseas will subsequently purchase travel insurance for their trip. Additionally, digital adoption is high for travel insurance purchases, as almost 1/3rd of customers looking for travel insurance visit insurance company websites to purchase, while the other 30% purchase from online aggregators and online travel platforms.

There is palpable excitement, says Ajay Prakash, President, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), as he discusses the upcoming convention. “The enthusiasm is remarkable because our convention is happening directly after 2018. The destination is interesting as well as it is a relatively unknown destination for the Indian travel trade. We opened registrations for the convention on August 5 and within just two weeks we received over 400 registrations already. However, seats are limited, and we are not taking more than 500 people. We are also only taking members who are actively involved in the trade and of course the first preference is for our members,” he says.

The travel industry is once again spurring economic recovery for the country, as search data from international guests for Airbnb Stays in India shows it grew by more than 60% year-over-year from Q1 2021 to Q1 20221. Moreover, long-term stays on Airbnb emerges as a popular choice for guests in India. An Airbnb survey conducted by YouGov showed that 87% of Indians are planning to work while travelling or living elsewhere.

India’s aviation sector is expanding and the overall fleet size is expected to almost double in the next five years, says Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. “In 5 years we are looking at 1,200 fleet size in the country which will be almost double of the current 700 aircraft,” he says. He is confident that the sector will touch 400 mn pax annually in 7-10 years from the current 200mn.