Sharing his perspective on the new entrant in the LCC segment, Gavin Eccles, Managing Partner, GE Consulting & Advisory, says, “Key for Akasa Air is to differentiate through ancillaries.  Make ancillaries a key part of the travel proposition.  And, what that means is moving beyond just ancillary development with seats, boarding, etc., but to really look at the total travel proposition.  One area growing well at the moment is an in-house tour operator that allows the airline to sell the leisure proposition via a controlled inventory system. Could we see Akasa Air Holidays?”

Travel Agents Federation of India – Gujarat Chapter has written to the Ahmedabad Airport Director regarding an announcement made for Ahmedabad runway repair from 3 January 2022 to 31 May 2022 from 9am to 6pm excluding public holidays and Sundays. The latter states, ‘We propose that this repair and maintenance work if possible should be executed in night hours from 10pm to 5am starting from March 2022 with a short completion period. We seek your immediate support to make these changes happen and save the tourism industry from losing its current pace.’  

According to new research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the recovery of the sector has been hampered by the lack of international coordination, severe travel restrictions and slower vaccination rates in some parts of the world which still hamper many regions of the world. The research reveals that at the current rate of recovery, Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the global economy could see a similar moderate year on year rise of 31.7% in 2022.

IndiaTourism New Delhi office recently conducted a two-day vaccination camp at The Park, New Delhi with both Covishield as well as Covaxin vaccines being offered. It invited everyone from the travel fraternity to participate in this drive to ensure full vaccination.

Hoping to cash in on the growth potential of spiritual getaways in India, VITS Kamats Group has launched 70-room VITS The Somnath Gateway in the temple town of Somnath. Located in close proximity to the Somnath temple, it offers a peaceful abode for pilgrims with all the necessary devotional settings.

The sixth edition of France’s worldwide culinary extravaganza, Goût de/Good France was celebrated over five continents between 14th-22nd October. French Embassies and Consulates hosted culinary events promoting a commitment to a “greener” and more inclusive global gastronomy ‘à la française’. This year the gastronomy of the ‘Centre-Val de Loire’ region was honoured. In Mumbai, Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet,  the Consul General of France in Bombay hosted an exclusive soiree at the French Residence on 21st October where guests enjoyed the succulent flavours of France’s renowned cuisine thanks to a specially curated menu designed by the Sofitel Mumbai for this occasion. Seen here on the left is Sami Bouakaze, Deputy Consul, Consulat Général de France à Bombay alongside Jean-Marc Séré-Charlet, Consul General of France in Bombay, at the event. France’s worldwide gastronomical event, Goût de France/Good France, is back for its 6th edition, and restaurants in India once again participated in force. From October 14 to 22, dozens of restaurants across India served French-style menus focused on sustainable gastronomy. They joined chefs and restaurants across the world and over 150 French embassies and consulates in this annual event celebrating French cuisine. This year’s edition focused on the gastronomy of the future by highlighting commitment to a more eco-friendly, sustainable cuisine, as well as on the Centre-Loire Valley region, the “Garden of France” whose gastronomy dates back to the Renaissance and has shaped an exceptional way of life, opening a window onto French excellence. Restaurants across India, chefs, importers of French products and other stakeholders of gastronomy in India took part in the initiative by creating menus that promote French gastronomy, French gourmet food products and wines in sync with the themes of the event. …

Thomas Cook (India) has now opened a new foreign exchange branch in Margao, Goa. The branch was inaugurated by Ambreesh Rastogi and Jayesh Joshi, Associate Vice Presidents of the company’s Foreign Exchange business. Thomas Cook India’s internal data has identified Goa as a high opportune source market, and the new foreign exchange branch, is hence aimed at maximising this growth potential. Thomas Cook India’s foreign exchange distribution/reach in Goa now extends to 2 owned branches with presence in both North and South Goa. Thomas Cook India’s new outlet in Goa will empower consumers with end-to-end forex solutions along with a range of travel and travel related services, which include: Prepaid Forex Cards: Multi-currency Borderless Prepaid Card in partnership with MasterCard – with 9 global currencies Thomas Cook One Currency Card – India’s first prepaid card with Zero cross currency conversion fees Education forex for the overseas student segment of Ghaziabad, with discounted air fares, excess baggage, insurance, and foreign exchange student products Remittances (both inward and outward), with its “Send Money Abroad” scheme covering over 120 countries Diverse range of products-services: 26 global currencies, draft & wire service to universities in 120 countries, Forex App, online forex store Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President – Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) Limited said, “Our internal data highlights that Goa is a key source market with strong growth potential. Our selection of the prime location of Margao is hence aimed at catalysing growth by bringing our range of forex products-services right to the doorstep of our Goa consumers. In our unerring focus on customer delight, we have launched our promise of doorstep delivery within 4 hours- to benefit Goa’s diversity of segments including students, business …

Signalling a clear intent to capitalise on the strong and growing opportunity presented by the India market, Thomas Cook (India), and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have signed a 3 year agreement with Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) operator in the Middle East and North Africa. The partnership will deliver on a range of customisable air-inclusive holidays via a technology platform built by Thomas Cook India and SOTC. The exciting and extensive holiday portfolio will be curated by Thomas Cook and SOTC, with air inventory and exclusive fares being provided by Air Arabia. The partnership expands Thomas Cook India and SOTC reach with access to Air Arabia’s customer base in India and provides marketing investment to accelerate demand by targeting a range of India’s travel segments – across families, couples, millennials, groups of friends, seniors; also B-leisure customers. Air Arabia operates from 12 Indian cities (metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and viable Tier 2-3 markets like Ahmedabad, Calicut, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram; Nagpur from Nov 2021) giving India’s travellers an opportunity to holiday across its extensive network of over 170 international favourites – spanning the Middle East, CIS countries, Africa, Europe and Asia, via easy access of its gateway – Sharjah. Indian consumers benefit via attractively priced bundled holiday products (air + land) that leverage the respective strengths of the industry leaders – Thomas Cook India, SOTC and Air Arabia. The partnership brings travellers the added advantage of a suite of ready-to-book holidays and customisable itineraries – all bookable via a simple and seamless online platform, conceptualised and built by Thomas Cook India & SOTC. Additionally, Thomas Cook & SOTC will also …

Sharing his comments on the Government of India announcing 100% capacity for flights, Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head- Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook India, says, “We welcome the Government’s announcement permitting domestic carriers to operate at 100 percent of their pre-Covid capacity from October 18, 2021. With the return of consumer confidence in air travel coupled with a surge in holiday demand for the festive season (across Dussehra-Diwali and then Christmas-Year end), the announcement could not have come at a better time. Additionally, the increased capacity will ease pressures on the supply side – with cascading impact on air fares. From a Corporate MICE a perspective too, the increased capacity offers significant scope for domestic incentive groups serving to catalyse overall recovery for the  travel and tourism industry.” Indiver Rastogi, President & Group Head – Global Business Travel – Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC, says, “Its about time that Indian Aviation opened up, we’ve been seeing flights filled up to the hilt till now; adding capacity will increase flights across routes therefore giving travellers more choices of timings thereby making it convenient for business travelers to manage their schedules and boost the confidence of travelers . This will also bring some relief on fares as airlines will seek to fill the capacity. We hope to see more flights put on the business/metro routes. We are witnessing a steady return of business from our corporate travellers and our SME segments and this announcement will infuse positivity, auguring well for much needed revival of the overall sector.”

Tourism Malaysia is participating for the third time at the third edition of the Gulf Travel Show (GTS) from 12 to 14 October 2021. As a platinum partner, Malaysia is having its own virtual pavilion with 13 booths consisting of Tourism Malaysia Dubai, Tourism Malaysia Jeddah, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), together with three DMCs/tour operator partners, one product partner, as well as five hotels and resorts from the island of Langkawi. Following this year’s participation, Manoharan Periasamy, the Senior Director of Tourism Malaysia’s International Promotion Division for Asia & Africa says that GTS 2021 is a platform that allows industry players to share the development and implementation of safety for domestic and international travellers in preparation for reopening the borders, especially for the Middle East market. “Malaysia has successfully completed the vaccination of more than 90 per cent of its adult population against COVID-19, and as a result, domestic tourism has fully reopened effective Monday, 11 October 2021. In the meantime, Tourism Malaysia is gearing up in preparing to welcome more tourists and also continuing in promoting the #WeMissYou campaign ahead of the reopening of our international borders that is expected after we achieve 90 per cent complete inoculation nationwide,” says Manoharan. Nasaruddin Bin Abdul Muttalib, Chief Executive Officer of LADA adds, “On 16 September 2021, the government has announced the reopening of Langkawi as the pilot project for Malaysia’s domestic travel bubble, aimed at reviving the nation’s tourism industry. Langkawi has become the first holiday destination in Malaysia to open its doors to domestic tourists who are fully vaccinated. The visitors are also subject to the standard operating procedures (SOP) compliance and are required …