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.

Catering to increased demand, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is pleased to announce a 100 per cent restoration of its pre-Covid services to Bengaluru. Starting 30 October 2022, the Airline, which currently flies seven times weekly from the city, will go back to operating 16 times a week. To celebrate the occasion, the Airline has also announced promotional fares when they book tickets between now and 14 September 2022. for travel from Bengaluru to popular countries across Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The additional flights from Bengaluru will not only provide greater flexibility for arrival into Singapore, but will also give customers more options and better connections for travel to key onward destinations in the SIA network such as Australia, New Zealand and USA. Sy Yen Chen, General Manager India for Singapore Airlines said, “We have been steadily restoring our operations across India to pre-Covid levels, and Bengaluru is no exception. We have seen healthy demand from the city, and this increase in capacity coupled with special fares to popular holiday destinations, will give our customers many attractive options to pick from when they plan their overseas trips in the coming months.” From 30 October 2022, subject to regulatory approvals, Singapore Airlines will have restored 100 per cent of its pre-Covid services to India, i.e. the Airline will operate 96 flights weekly from eight cities across the country.

IATO has thanked the Government for withdrawing completely 5 percent Tax Collection At Source (TCS) charged on sale of overseas tour packages to foreign tour operators. Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, said, “This means that both foreign individuals and FTOs (buyers) buying overseas tour packages from the Indian Tour Operators will be exempted from TCS provisions.”

Thanking the govt to offer foreign tourists GST refund for local shopping, FHRAI has proposed to extend this to all shopping. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice President, FHRAI, says, “The government is considering piloting the system to offer GST refund on purchases made by foreigners at only Cottage Industries Emporium. This is a welcome move and we request that the benefit be extended to all purchases that they make in the country.”

Launching the first ‘Mizoram Tourism Start Up Competition’ in the state capital, Robert Romawia Royte, Minister of State (IC) for Sports & Youth Services, I&CT, and Tourism, Mizoram, says, “Pitching your ideas can be a great way to open the door to investment and make connections that can bring your business endeavours far into the future. I believe that enabling young entrepreneurs to freely create their own business concepts will be a great fit. Do take part and turn your ideas into reality.”

Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship program Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN has completed 5 years. Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said, “It has played a great role in the transformation of Indian aviation industry. So far under this scheme, we have 425 routes aiming to go up to 1000 routes, 68 new airports aiming to touch 100 airports. In next 4 years we are expecting 40 crore travellers through civil aviation in India. That day is not far when along with rail transport and road transport Civil Aviation will become the bulwark of the transportation in India.”

Criteo SA, in its findings from its latest travel report 2022 Travel Commerce Insights, states that Indian travellers showed the strongest interest to lower their carbon footprint when traveling, and for travel during summer among APAC countries surveyed. In terms of the destination, 74% of Indian travellers answered they are likely to make an online booking for domestic travel. The report also says that hotel and rental and airline bookings rebounded to match or surpass the pre-pandemic level globally. The other APAC countries apart from India included Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded. This compares to 77 million arrivals from January to May 2021 and means that the sector has recovered almost half (46%) of pre-pandemic 2019 levels. “The recovery of tourism has gathered pace in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges standing in its way,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. He also advises caution in view of the “economic headwinds and geopolitical challenges which could impact the sector in the remainder of 2022 and beyond.”

Speaking on completing 12 years of operations, Kanwer Deep Singh, Founder & President, TravelBullz, says, “Twelve years of passion, integrity and hard work – that’s what TravelBullz stands for. Humbled by the support from all our partners that makes us more committed. Shalini Nair, Founding Member, TravelBullz adds, “As we celebrate the 12th Foundation Day of 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐳, we are overwhelmed with lot of emotions. Thankful to almighty and our dear friends and partners for their faith and support all these years. We are forever indebted to our colleagues who continued to have faith in us through the most difficult times the world had seen and stood by us like a Rock. It is a testimony that together we can conquer any hurdle and overcome any challenges.”