Explaining why TAFI did not choose India as its convention venue, Ajay Prakash, President, TAFI, says, “It is very important to do something within the country. But we could not do it as planned because the domestic air fares and hotel rates were very high. And honestly, the support that one receives from an international destination is far more than any state government is normally willing to offer.”

Fiji Tourism has just launched its revamped Fiji travel specialist programme called Matai 2.0 and it’s more in-depth and interactive with quizzes and more video content! Kathy Koyamaibole, Regional Director (Asia & The Pacific), Fiji Tourism says, “The revamped version has three tiers– Gold, Silver and Bronze – with different incentives. There are exciting prizes for those who complete the Matai 2.0 programme before July 31, 2022. They then qualify for a famil to Fiji.”

Michael Goh, President, Resorts World Cruises, says, “The response of the launch for Resorts World Cruises in India has been overwhelming. Within two months of opening bookings, we secured over 20,000 cabins from the India market. We are highly optimistic that the fly-cruise demand will continue to be strong in the following years, as we continue to push our offerings to a wider market segment, including MICE.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday announced that Jharkhand is set to get three more airports. He also said that 14 new air routes will be made available in the state to increase connectivity. “Jharkhand will soon have five airports. After Ranchi and Deoghar, we will set up airports in Bokaro, Jamshedpur and Dumka. Also, 14 new air routes will be introduced in the state to increase connectivity,” Scindia said.

Sachin Kurve takes charge as Secretary of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand and CEO, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. Kurve is a 2003 batch IAS officer of the Uttarakhand cadre and has held several senior key positions spanning close to two decades including key positions in the Government of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. During his tenure, he took responsibility as the District Magistrate of Rudraprayag, Tehri-Garhwal in Dehradun, and Haridwar and as the Director and Additional Secretary, Panchayati Raj Department, and also as the Additional Secretary to the Governor. In early 2015, he moved to Maharashtra on deputation wherein he held several key positions including District Collector, Revenue and Forest Department in Nagpur and Mumbai Sub Urban. Other prime positions include his role as the Secretary to the Chief Minister, Secretary to the Governor, and Investment Commissioner, Industries. In the middle of September 2020, he shifted back to Uttarakhand and took up the charge as Secretary, Industries and Excise, positions which he still holds along with food, civil supply & consumer affairs with his current role as secretary of Tourism and CEO of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.

Sandeep Raghav has been appointed as the Director (Business Development) for the India market. He has over 20 years of experience with international hotels. Working with brands such as Taj Group, Radisson UK Hotels, Jumeirah Group, Frasers Hospitality Singapore, Starwood Hotels, Marriott Hotels and Conrad Maldives has given him immense exposure to the luxury segment to handle FIT and group business from India. He is a seasoned hotelier specialising in luxury leisure and MICE segment for various outbound destinations. He has been a key element for their team goals. Raghav loves cricket, music and travel. He is a team player and goal-oriented in his actions.

Addressing the various stakeholders present at the 7th National Tourism Investors Meet 2022, Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, stressed on collaboration between tour operators and airlines for marketing Indian destinations. She said, “The government is working to increase the number of airports in the country to 200 by 2024 from 140 airports. Aviation and tourism are complimenting sectors. Air connectivity needs to be in tandem with what the tourism sector is doing.”

Ministry of Tourism has been supporting 46 identified tourism routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme 3.0 through the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to the Airport Authority of India, to improve connectivity and boost tourism in the country.

International tourism continued to recover from the COVID-19 crisis at a strong pace in January-March 2022. Destinations welcomed almost three times as many international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) as in the same period of 2021, with Europe leading the rebound. International arrivals increased 182% year-on-year in Q1 2022 to an estimated 117 million international arrivals compared to 41 million in Q1 2021. Of the extra 76 million international arrivals, about 47 million were recorded in March.

As per an ICRA report the hotel industry witnessed a healthy start to FY2023, with 56-58% occupancy in premium hotels in Q1 FY2023. It was up from ~40-42% in FY2022 and closer to pre-Covid occupancy of 60-62% in Q1 FY2020. Pan-India ARR stood at ~Rs. 4,600 – 4,800 in Q1 FY2023, as against Rs. 4,200-4,400 in FY2022. It still remains at a 16-18% discount to pre-Covid levels on an average, although a few high-end hotels and leisure destinations witnessed ARRs spike to higher than pre-Covid levels in the last few months.